Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526 – 1593) was an Italian Renaissance painter famous for his imaginative and unconventional portraits. Born in Milan, he served as a court painter for the Habsburg emperors in Vienna and Prague. Arcimboldo's unique style is characterized by his "composite portraits" which used a combination of objects, fruits, vegetables, and other elements, arranged to portray a human face. These whimsical and highly detailed works are often interpreted as allegorical representations of the seasons, elements, or human attributes. The Four Seasons 1563-73 Arcimboldo's most famous series of paintings is "The Four Seasons" where he cleverly arranged items like flowers, fruits and branches to capture his enigmatic visages. Today, Arcimboldo is popularly known primarily for his influence on the surrealists. But Arcimboldo's influences is more far-reaching than that. From the chalk cliffs of Germany to the American Southwest, Arcimboldo has helped sha...

I'm late leaving my thoughts--maybe as usual. ;) I saw this drawing and immediately named him "sunflower man" in my head, because he looks like he'll always face the light. Love the perspective across the hands and arms. It's enough to make a viewer notice the slightly top-heavy quality of the figure and know that his outsize head is intentional, rather than accidental.
ReplyDeleteWhat is he so focused on? His posture shows awe and a sense of offering... the obvious answer would be a God just off the page. He is, of course, very different from most supplicants because he is unashamedly naked and also very clean-cut, not with a look of physical suffering or abasement. Still, there's definitely an appeal to a higher power.
-JS