My third idol is the talented artist, Giuseppe Arcimboldo. He was born in the year 1527 and died in the year 1593 in Milan.
Click the link below to view his masterpieces :
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/arcimboldo_giuseppe.html
Below is an article I wrote about Giuseppe Arcimboldo.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo's symbolic Pictures
What is it that makes Arcimboldo's pictures so unique? Arcimboldo was famous for his symbolic pictures: A head in profile consisting of a thousand flowers is called "Spring", another head made up of all kinds of fruit is called "Summer", "Water" is the title of his painting in which all the marine creatures seem to have congregated in complete chaos. Then there is "Earth", a head which consists of over forty different animals. A portrait made up of books is "The Librarian". There are many other composition of this kind. They are always rendered accurately with regard to detail as well as delicate colours. Some of his pictures are quite confusing, but interesting. One particular painting, for instance, includes a pot full of different kinds of vegetables, but when one looks at it upside down, it turns into the figure of a market gardener.
Arcimboldo's first pictures were painted in the traditional style of the Renaissance in 1549, at the age of 22. However, there was a decisive turning point in his art after he went to Prague in 1562. He started to draw protraits with abundance of allegorical and symbolical allusions, or what we called it as anti-naturalist abstraction. Each of his portraits comprised the following elements and stated that: Spring is represented by flowers, Autumn - represented by autumn fruits, the Jurist is represented by meat and roast fish, the Emperor Rodolphe II is represented by plants all the year round (fruit, flowers and wonderful vegetables) and evokes the four seasons in perfect harmony, etc.
I believe that the change in Arcimboldo's style was influenced by the following:
(1) Cultural environment
Every artist develops under the influence at the cultural environment in which he lives. As Arcimboldo was born during the transition period between the Renaissance and Mannerism, traces of both movements can be found in his art.
(2) Physical environment
Arcimboldo's immediate environment at the Emperor's Court and Art and Wonder Chambers (with the numerous rare species and collector's items) must have influenced him quite considerably.
(3) Advices from the Emperor
Furthermore, I think Arcimboldo was also influenced directly "from above", that he received advice and suggestions from the Emperor to draw "Imperial paintings". These paintings were meant to glorify the Emperor himself. The Hapsburg rulers like to present Arcimboldo's pictures as gifts to various relatives and dignitaries, so that his art served partly - or even mainly - as a "advertisement" for the polices of the House of Hapsburg.
Arcimboldo believes that world consists of elements, and whoever rules over the elements will control the world. The seasons that he drew symbolized the eternal order of nature as well as the idea that Hapsburg will reign forever. Thus, the heads of the seasons and of the elements stand for the eternal rule of the House of Hapsburg.
Political significance of these pictures is further emphasized by the large number of Hapsburg symbols, such as the peacock and the eagle as part of "Air". The element Fire is symbolized by the chain of the Golden Fleece - a Hapsburg symbol. It also contains a number of military references, for example, guns and cannons which served the purpose of emphasizing the great military power of the Hapsburg rulers. Earth is another picture which is full of Hapsburg symbols, such as the lion's hide of Hercules and the skin of a ram.
Arcimboldo paints his series of "Seasons" in 1563, and the four "Elements" in 1566. The various "Elements" and "Seasons" are all in profile and seem to be facing one another: Winter and Water, Spring and Air, Summer and Fire, Autumn and Earth. Arcimboldo believes that there is a special relationship between them: Summer is hot and dry, like Fire. Winter is cold and wet, like Winter. Air and Spring are both hot and wet, and Autumn and the Earth are cold and dry.
Each series also contains a certain symmetry: Two heads are always looking to the left and two to the right.
Arcimboldo also painted interesting visual puns which can be turned upside down. They are "The vegetable gardener" and "The Cook". In the picture of "The Cook", it shows a rather rough-looking chap, but when one looks at it more closely, it turns out to be composed of chunks of fried meat. When the picture is upside down, the helmet turns into a meat dish, with a slice of lemon lying on the edge and piles of fried meat in the middle.
"Vertumus" was one of the most famous Arcimboldo's painting. It is a head-and-shoulder portrait of the Emperor, showing him in the form of Vertumus, the ancient Roman God of vegetation and transformation. Rudolph consists entirely of magnificent fruits, flowers and vegetables representing the four seasons. Plants and produce of the whole year have been gathered together "in perfect harmony", to glorify the Emperor who rules over them like the God Vertumus. This picture is the crowning achievement among all the paintings that Arcimboldo made for the glory of Rudolph or the other Hapsburg rulers.
In conclusion, Arcimboldo was an extremely talented artist. His enormous talent and inventive spirit in art evoked the admiration of his contemporaries in general and the great people pf his time.
As with other renaissance artists, Arcimboldo was not content simply with the imitation of nature in his art. He surpassed this to produce an anti-naturalist abstraction. Fantasy took over and the psyche and emotions combined to establish new ideas over and above the objective perception of the subject. The "mosaics" of his portraits provided the perfect backdrop illustrating the diversity and cohesive needs of the Empire.
Whether Arcimboldo had a natural tendency towards an illusionist and symbolic style of painting or whether he had received instructions from the Emperor, who wanted to glorify himself - it is certainly true to say that he took a completely new path during his time in Prague, that he stubbornly persisting in creating a style of his own which had never been seen before and was so unique that he is still famous for it today.
