In the 16th Century, People Went Crazy for Portraits Made Up of Fruits and Veggies - Modern Farmer

In the 16th Century, People Went Crazy for Portraits Made Up of Fruits and Veggies

Is that ear a corn cob? That nose a pear?

Vertemnus or Rudolf II
Photography Credit: Skokloster Castle via Wikimedia Commons

This fanciful painting, and many others, are the work of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, a painter from Milan, Italy, born around 1526, who was employed as court artist to Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I at the Hapsburg Court in Vienna beginning in 1562. He would later serve Ferdinand’s son, Maximilian II, and grandson, Rudolf II at the Hapsburg court in Prague. The strange portrait of Rudolf II, painted in 1591, is even more shocking when you realize it’s of an autocratic emperor from an incredibly powerful family.

800px-giuseppe_arcimboldo

Self-portrait of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, before 1593. Wikimedia Commons

But Rudolf II was apparently used to Arcimboldo’s wacky paintings – and since the artist portrayed the emperor as Vertumnus, the Roman god of seasons, maybe he was flattered as well. Either way, Arcimboldo made a career out of these types of portraits. In fact. He was quite popular with the Royal set; King Augustus of Saxony commissioned a work from Arcimboldo after seeing his paintings in the 1570s. Like today, the rich and famous help define what’s hot and trendy so it wasn’t long before there were other artists following Arcimboldo’s lead. Like knock off Prada and Gucci handbags, a legion of imitators produced fruit and veggie portraits for folks aspiring to be like the royals. These lesser known – and less talented – artists are today simply billed in the art world as “followers of Giuseppe Arcimboldo.”

800px-arcimboldo_summer_1563

Summer, 1563. Wikimedia Commons

Arcimboldo didn’t just paint strange portraits incorporating fruits and vegetables. He also worked with seafood, meat, flowers, and books, among other common objects. He served the Hapsburgs for 25 years before returning to Milan, where he died in 1593. It would take 20th century artists, specifically the Surrealists, to help revive interest in and fully appreciate Arcimboldo’s strange and beautiful paintings.

arcimboldo_vegetables

The Greengrocer, ca. 1590 Wikimedia Commons

 

800px-arcimboldowater

The Water, 1566. Ausstellungskatalog des Kunsthistorischen Museums Wien via Wikimedia Commons

 

The Fruit basket, ca. 1590. Wikimedia Commons

Subscribe
Notify of

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Related