Background
Giuseppe Arcimboldo was born in 1527 in Milan, Italy. His father was an artist.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo was born in 1527 in Milan, Italy. His father was an artist.
Following in his father’s footsteps, he began his artistic career by undertaking work on the stained-glass windows of cathedrals in Milan in 1549. In 1558, he drew the caricature for a large tapestry representing the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, which is preserved to this day in the Como Cathedral. Then Arcimboldo relocated to Vienna, Austria in 1562. He became a court portraitist to Maximilian II of the Habsburg Dynasty, and to his son, Rudolf II. In 1570, Arcimboldo moved with Maximilian’s court to Prague, where he organized the inaugural pageant for Maximilian. Arcimboldo undertook various duties during his long stay in Prague, even after Rudolf II ascended the throne.
Arcimboldo returned to Milan in 1587, where he produced Vertumnus, arguably his best known work. It was a portrait of Rudolf II, but instead of the traditional human features, Arcimboldo re-interpreted Rudolf’s face and torso as being entirely composed of flowers, fruit and vegetables. He executed the painting in oil, using brilliant colors. Arcimboldo went on to serve the Hapsburg family for more than 25 years, creating his bizarre “composite heads” made of sea creatures, flowers, dinner roasts and other materials. One set of paintings was called "The Four Seasons", and the other "The Four Elements", which explored the elements of earth, water, fire and air.
Arcimboldo was famous for his re-imagined and composite portraitures. At the time, they were variously described as surreal, whimsical, amusing, fantastical, bizarre, imaginative and the work of a madman. Some do appear grotesque at first sight but, on further study, they are seen to be extremely well-executed. They depict fully-observed details that speak of an in-depth knowledge of the natural world.
In his piece entitled "Winter", for example, the tangled roots, leaves, bark and fruit are rendered in a highly detailed and realistic aspect. The texture is life-like, and the interplay of light and shadow is expertly executed. Arcimboldo was a visionary who pre-dated the surrealist movement by several centuries, and his influence on future painters can be seen in the works of Dali and other surrealist painters. He died on July 11, 1593 in Milan, Italy.
His paintings contained allegorical meanings, puns, and jokes that were appreciated by his contemporaries but lost upon audiences of a later date. Guiseppe had a unique eccentric vision.
There has been speculation among many art historians suggesting Arcimboldo may of been suffering from some form of mental illness.