Giuseppe Arcimboldo was an Italian painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made entirely of objects like fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish, and books. He served as a court painter for Holy Roman Emperors Ferdinand I, Maximilian II, and Rudolph II from 1562 until his death in 1593. Some of his most famous works from this period include his interpretations of the Four Seasons from the 1560s-1570s and the portraits Flora and Vertumnus, which featured Emperor Rudolph II composed entirely of plants and food. While highly acclaimed during his lifetime, interest in Arcimboldo's unique style declined after his death, though it saw a revival in the

1. AUTOPORTRET cca 1575

2. Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-1593) Although Giuseppe Arcimboldo was extremely famous during his lifetime, he was soon forgotten after his death. We do not know why people ever lost interest in his art. Perhaps he was misunderstood by the generations that followed. The interest to his abstruse and fantastic pictures, of which we only have a very few originals, nowadays, revived only at the end of the 19th century. Apart from the fantastic pictures, he probably painted quite a few more traditional ones. But many of these, too, seem to have disappeared. Giuseppe Arcimboldo was born into the family of a painter for the Milan Cathedral in 1527. The other variants of the name: Josephus, Joseph or Josepho Arcimboldi or Arcimboldus. It is uncertain which version is the correct one, because the painter used all these variants to sign his works. Many art historians agreed to use the variant of Giuseppe Arcimboldo. In 1549, at the age of 22, Giuseppe Arcimboldo made his debut as an artist. The records of the Milan Cathedral tell us that, together with his father, he was paid for designing several stained glass windows. He went on to work for the Milan Cathedral after his father’s death, until 1558. During this period he designed stained glass windows for the Milan Cathedral and several gobelin tapestries for the Como Cathedral.

3. In 1562, Giuseppe Arcimboldo became a court painter of Emperor Ferdinand I (Habsburg) and left for Vienna, then moved to Prague. During the 2 years, when Arcimboldo served Ferdinand I, he painted several portraits of the Imperial family as well as the first series of his Four Seasons. The artistic concept of these pictures of 1563 was unique and laid the foundation of Arcimboldo’s success as a painter. The documents of the time bear witness to the fact that monarchs and his contemporaries in general were quite enthusiastic about his art. When Ferdinand I died, in 1564, and was succeeded by Emperor Maximilian II (1527-1576), Arcimboldo continued as his court artist. There is little doubt that a large number of pictures were painted between 1564 and 1576, but only very few of them are known to us: Water and Fire (1566), The Lawyer (1566), The Cook (1570) another series of the Four Seasons in 1572, two series of Four Seasons in 1573, including Spring (1573), Summer (1573), Autumn (1573), Winter (1573). In 1575 Arcimboldo made several paintings for the private chambers of the Emperor. We do not know of any other works. But apart from painting, Arcimboldo also had other duties at the Imperial court. As he was a man of many talents he also served the Emperor as an architect, stage designer, engineer, water engineer and art specialist. Because of his extensive knowledge he was able to exert his influence on Maximilian II.

4. Like his 2 predecessors, Emperor Rudolph II (1552-1612) also took Arcimboldo into his service. The eleven years, which the artist spent with Rudolph II, were probably the peak of his career. The Emperor was extremely fond of Arcimboldo and showed great appreciation for him. All we know about Arcimboldo’s activities as an artist at the Imperial court is that he painted The Four Seasons twice in 1577, that he dedicated a red leather folio containing 150 pen-and-ink drawings to the Emperor in 1585, and that he organized a number of festive processions and tournaments in the same year. We have no knowledge of any further pictures, which he might have painted, at the court in Prague after 1585. In 1587, after 11 years of service and a number of urgent requests, Arcimboldo finally received permission from Rudolph II to return to his native Milan. And so he went back in the same year, but honored the Emperor’s request to continue working for him even, though he was no longer in his service. In 1591 he painted two of his most famous pictures, Flora (c.1591) and Vertumnus (1590-1591), which he sent to Prague. Vertumnus was particularly appreciated by everyone, especially by Rudolph himself. It is a head-and-shoulder portrait of the Emperor, showing him in the form of Vertumnus, the ancient Roman god of vegetation and transformation. Rudolph consists entirely of magnificent fruits, flowers and vegetables. Delighted with these paintings, Rudolph II awarded Arcimboldo one of his highest orders in 1592. Next year on 11 July 1593 the painter died.

5. AERUL

6. APA 1566

7. FOCUL 1566

8. PAMANTUL cca 1570

9. PRIMAVARA 1573

10. VARA 1573

11. TOAMNA 1573

12. IARNA 1563

13. FLORA cca 1591

14. VERTUMNUS 1590-91

15. AVOCATUL 1566

16. BIBLIOTECARUL cca 1566

17. EVA SI MARUL 1578

18. BUCATARUL cca 1570

19. GRADINARUL cca 1590