Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Not much has been noted about Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s personal life, except for the fact that his father was an artist. Information pertaining to his children or a marriage has not been recorded and hence the world remains oblivious to the life he had beyond his world or artistry, if he did have one.

However, due to his strange ways and artistic renditions of the human figure, people have debated for centuries whether or not hispaintings are the work of insanity.

After retiring from the Prague service, Giuseppe Arcimboldo retired to Milan, where he died on 11 July 1593 at the age of 66.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was born at Milan in 1527 to Biagio, who was a painter for the office of ‘Fabbrica’ in the ‘Duomo.’ Walking in the footsteps of his father, Arcimboldo took a deep interest in painting from a very young age.

Precise details of his early art training are unknown and have not been documented, but historians suggestthat as a boy he was skilful and talented, making him a versatile artist. He could paint a number of religious art forms, including stained glass art and tapestry designs as well as fresco art.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo began his career in 1549, when he was commissioned to do stained glass window designs at the ‘Duomo’. In 1556 he worked with the ever talented Giuseppe Meda on frescoes at the famous Cathedral of Monza. He also painted a cartoon of a large tapestry of the ‘Dormition of the Virgin Mary’ that is still hung at the ‘Como Cathedral’.

Possessing a talent that was not meant for secrecy, he was summoned by Ferdinand I in 1562 at the Habsburg court, and became the court portraitist.

It wasn’t long before he became a court painter for Maximilian II and his son Rudolf II at the court of Prague. He was soon recognised as an artist with ingenious pun reflections in his paintings and portraits.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo also served as a “party planner” at the court of Prague; historical records suggest that his duty as a planner was to organize lavish ‘theme balls’ at which the wealthiest of the lot got portraits of theirs painted by Arcimboldo. Many of his admirers were thrilled by his innate panache.

Most of his remaining works are of collected objects, which have been assembled to resemble people. He used fruits, flowers, vegetables, fish, and books, and other just objects arranged in such a way so as to resemble a person.

He painted ‘The Four Seasons’ which is a series of portraits that constructed faces out of blooming blossoms, swollen gourds, withered roots, and ripe grain. In 1570, when Augustus, Elector of Saxony, visited Vienna, he was stoked on seeing Arcimboldo's work and ordered a copy of ‘The Four Seasons’.

In 1590, he painted a portrait of hisroyal patron, the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, as a heap of fruits and vegetables, with pea pods for eyelids and a gourd for a forehead. Rudolf had a good sense of humour as he had probably grown accustomed to the artist’s visual wit.

He was also an established costume designer and interior designer of his time. He possessed a secret love for writing poetry as documented by one of his close friends.