Four Seasons by Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Four Seasons
1563-73
Mannerism
Oil on canvas
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

A series of four paintings “Four Seasons” is probably Arcimboldo’s most famous work. It is the epitome of the Mannerist style emphasising the close relationship between humanity and nature. Each portrait is representative of one of the seasons and is made up of objects that are characteristic of that time of year. Only Winter and Summer survive from the original series, however, Arcimboldo’s patron, Emperor Maximilian II, commissioned a second set in 1573 as a gift and it is that second set that remains intact

Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Mannerism
Born: 1527, Milan, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Died: 11 July 1593, Milan, Italy

Arcimboldo was a painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made from objects such as fruit, vegetables, fish, books, and flowers. However, he was also a conventional painter of portraits, including three Holy Roman Emperors, religious subjects, and exotic animals. Arcimboldo’s still-life portraits were intended as curiosities, whimsical in nature produced to amuse the court.