Art e Dossier

As a result of some fairly recent documentary findings, it has been possible to attribute to the period prior to Arcimboldi’s departure for Prague (1562) a number of fresco scenes in Monza Cathedral, in particular the one depicting the Tree of Jesse, which occupies the entire wall of the right transept. Only recently has some light been thrown on Arcimboldi’s early work in Italy, but it is probable that with his Milanese background he was steeped in the culture of Leonardo, Bramantino and Gaudenzio Ferrari, with a special preference for the caricatures and anatomical studies of the Tuscan artist, which would later exercise a strong influence in his development of the composite heads. In this Italian work by Arcimboldi, it is also possible to note the influence of Flemish painting and of the Campi from Cremona.

Arcimboldi completed two series of the Elements and Seasons for the court in Prague. In the light of the discovery of a series of manuscripts from the painter’s court entourage, these have been interpreted as allegorical celebrations of the kingdom. A poem by the Milanese poet Giovanni Battista Fontana, known as Fonteius, takes as its subject these famous series, which seem to be based on a system of correspondences between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The various elements assume the human form of the sovereign, present in the profiles of the portraits, and signify the dominion of the Austrian royal family over time and the universe. Spring faces left (as does Autumn) and is depicted in his early youth with a face brimming with flowers, Summer is an adolescent, Autumn is an elderly, bearded figure and Winter is an old man with a straggly, unkempt beard and withered bark-skin. Besides the evident influence of transalpine figurative culture, Arcimboldi appears to demonstrate a profound knowledge of the work of Leonardo and the personification of Winter closely recalls Leonardo’s caricatures. Furthermore, the interwoven branches that make up the head of hair–crown are strongly reminiscent of the one in the Sala delle Asse in Milan.

Arcimboldi completed two series of the Elements and Seasons for the court in Prague. In the light of the discovery of a series of manuscripts from the painter’s court entourage, these have been interpreted as allegorical celebrations of the kingdom. A poem by the Milanese poet Giovanni Battista Fontana, known as Fonteius, takes as its subject these famous series, which seem to be based on a system of correspondences between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The various elements assume the human form of the sovereign, present in the profiles of the portraits, and signify the dominion of the Austrian royal family over time and the universe. Spring faces left (as does Autumn) and is depicted in his early youth with a face brimming with flowers, Summer is an adolescent, Autumn is an elderly, bearded figure and Winter is an old man with a straggly, unkempt beard and withered bark-skin. Besides the evident influence of transalpine figurative culture, Arcimboldi appears to demonstrate a profound knowledge of the work of Leonardo, in particular his anatomical studies, the influence of which is clearly evident in Summer.

Amongst the works which made Arcimboldi – the“Ingegnosissimo Pittor fantastico” as he was defined by the Lateran canon Gregorio Comanini – most famous were his “composite head” paintings, where the features are made up of elements pertinent to the subject. The Librarian is composed entirely of books, is dressed in a curtain and has an ear consisting of book-binding tape. A portraitist from 1562 onwards at the court of Ferdinand I (1558-1564), Arcimboldi managed nonetheless to combine his skill as a “naturalist” painter, acquired while he was in Lombardy, with a pronounced spirit of invention. With his bizarre, fantastic heads he gave rise to something of a European fashion.

Arcimboldi completed two series of the Elements and Seasons for the court in Prague. In the light of the discovery of a series of manuscripts from the painter’s court entourage, these have been interpreted as allegorical celebrations of the kingdom. A poem by the Milanese poet Giovanni Battista Fontana, known as Fonteius, takes as its subject these famous series, which seem to be based on a system of correspondences between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The various elements assume the human form of the sovereign, present in the profiles of the portraits, and signify the dominion of the Austrian royal family over time and the universe. This provides an interpretation for the presence in Fire of the two-headed eagle and the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which is made of gun-locks. The latter was an innovation of the Hapsburg period.

Amongst the works which made Arcimboldi – the“Ingegnosissimo Pittor fantastico” as he was defined by the Lateran canon Gregorio Comanini – most famous were his “composite head” paintings, where the features are made out of elements pertinent to the subject being depicted. The Jurist, formed by instruments of the trade, is closely related to The Lawyer, which consists entirely of books. A portraitist from 1562 onwards at the court of Ferdinand I (1558-1564), Arcimboldi managed nonetheless to combine his skill as a “naturalist” painter, acquired while he was in Lombardy, with a particularly pronounced spirit of invention. With his bizarre, fantastic heads he gave rise to something of a European fashion.

Arcimboldi completed two series of the Elements and Seasons for the court in Prague. In the light of the discovery of a series of manuscripts from the painter’s court entourage, these have been interpreted as allegorical celebrations of the kingdom. A poem by the Milanese poet Giovanni Battista Fontana, known as Fonteius, takes as its subject these famous series, which seem to be based on a system of correspondences between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The various elements assume the human form of the sovereign, present in the profiles of the portraits, and signify the dominion of the Austrian royal family over time and the universe. The depiction of the figure in Water is perhaps one of the most complex of all of Arcimboldi’s fantastic composite heads. Over sixty species of fish, reptile and mammal are clearly identifiable. For example, the cheek is recognisably a skate, while the sunfish contributes its eye and the moray eel its nose. The mouth is formed by a shark and the beard by a ling.

Arcimboldi completed two series of the Elements and Seasons for the court in Prague. In the light of the discovery of a series of manuscripts from the painter’s court entourage, these have been interpreted as allegorical celebrations of the kingdom. A poem by the Milanese poet Giovanni Battista Fontana, known as Fonteius, takes as its subject these famous series, which seem to be based on a system of correspondences between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The various elements assume the human form of the sovereign, present in the profiles of the portraits, and signify the dominion of the Austrian royal family over time and the universe. This provides an interpretation for the presence in Earth of the Golden Fleece and the lion’s mantle of Hercules, which was a Bohemian symbol. The upper part of the work is made up entirely of animals whose horns form a crown, a further allusion to the Emperor. According to Comanini, each animal in Earth also has a precise meaning in relation to the position it occupies. The elephant, for example, which is a bashful animal, forms the cheek, which is the seat of shame.

Arcimboldi completed two series of the Elements and Seasons for the court in Prague. In the light of the discovery of a series of manuscripts from the painter’s court entourage, these have been interpreted as allegorical celebrations of the kingdom. A poem by the Milanese poet Giovanni Battista Fontana, known as Fonteius, takes as its subject these famous series, which seem to be based on a system of correspondences between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The various elements assume the human form of the sovereign, present in the profiles of the portraits, and signify the dominion of the Austrian royal family over time and the universe. Spring faces left (as does Autumn) and is depicted in his early youth with a face brimming with flowers, Summer is an adolescent, Autumn is an elderly, bearded figure and Winter is an old man with a straggly, unkempt beard and withered bark-skin. In Spring there is a prominent iris on the breast, the ear consists of a columbine aquilegia and at the top of the neck there is a lily. All these flowers have a clear symbolic value in transalpine figurative culture, which Arcimboldi seems to have been aware of and taken into consideration.

Arcimboldi completed two series of the Elements and Seasons for the court in Prague. In the light of the discovery of a series of manuscripts from the painter’s court entourage, these have been interpreted as allegorical celebrations of the kingdom. A poem by the Milanese poet Giovanni Battista Fontana, known as Fonteius, takes as its subject these famous series, which seem to be based on a system of correspondences between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The various elements assume the human form of the sovereign, present in the profiles of the portraits, and signify the dominion of the Austrian royal family over time and the universe. Spring faces left (as does Autumn) and is depicted in his early youth with a face brimming with flowers, Summer is an adolescent, Autumn is an elderly, bearded figure and Winter is an old man with a straggly, unkempt beard and withered bark-skin.

The finest expression of his imaginative representation of the Seasons and the Elements can be found in the portrait of Rudolf II in the guise of Vertumnus, god of the seasons. The painting sums up the allegory of Arcimboldo’s first metamorphoses in a single image in which one can see the fruits and flowers of each season. The simultaneous flowering and ripening of the Earth’s fruits allude to the Golden Age of Rudolf’s reign, an allusion to an eternal Spring and the dream of Imperial propaganda. Arcimboldi arrived in Prague in 1562 and served three successive Hapsburg emperors, carrying out a wide variety of tasks and giving life to the distinctive allegorical-celebratory language of the royal house, which was based on a system of correspondences between the microcosm and the macrocosm. There is a literary reference to Vertumnus in a poem by Comanini.

One of Arcimboldi’s most celebrated and widely-admired composite heads, the first version of Flora, executed in 1589, was described by Lomazzo and Comanini in their works, and it also inspired a panegyrical sonnet by Borgogni. The Roman divinity of Spring is depicted with a mass of white flowers that form the delicate complexion of the face, while the redness of the cheeks is rendered with two pale pink roses.