Arcimboldo is a librarian. Vertumnus, the librarian - Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Have you heard about the artist who painted human faces from... fruits, vegetables and flowers?

This artist, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, is the greatest Italian painter who lived in the 16th century. Giuseppe Arcimboldo was born in Milan ca. 1527 He was a court artist under the emperors of the Habsburg dynasty in the second half of the 16th century. An Italian from a family of hereditary artists, he spent most of his life between Vienna and Prague, where the imperial court was then located. These sovereigns were passionate collectors of rare things, for which they created a special museum or, as they said then, the Kunstkamera. Arcimboldo was one of the curators of the Kunstkamera. During the reign of Ferdinand I in Vienna, Arcimboldo held the position of portrait painter and copyist. Later, when the throne passed to the eldest son of Ferdinand I, Maximilian II, the painter took the post of artist at court. Arcimboldo performed not only the functions of a court painter, but also was involved in the design of theatrical performances, and was the main organizer of fairs, tournaments, and holidays for artists, scientists and aristocrats. Giuseppe Arcimboldo took part in the founding of the Museum of Art. Arcimboldo is a genius, whose paintings were admired during his lifetime, and the church authorities condemned unthinkable ideas. Once Giuseppe Arcimboldo even wanted to paint a portrait of Christ. And Salvador Dali called the artist’s painting “the forerunner of surrealism.”

Few of his works have survived: usually these are chest-length portraits, in profile, and less often - full-face. The images are composed of fruits, vegetables, flowers, crustaceans, fish, pearls, musical and other instruments, books, etc.

Have you heard about the artist who painted human faces from... fruits, vegetables and flowers?

"The Librarian" (Italian: Il Bibliotecario) is an "unsurpassed example of philosophical caricature" by the Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. Executed in an experimental geometrizing technique, foreshadowing Cubism. The original is apparently lost.

Little is known about the early life of Giuseppe Arcimboldo. Like many Italian artists, he began his career with several commissions in various places, such as the creation of stained glass, frescoes and tapestries in Milan, Como and Monza. In 1562 he became the official portrait painter of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II. The painting "The Librarian" is one of a series of portraits of members of the emperor's entourage painted by Arcimboldo, corresponding in style to the works "Lawyer" and "Cook". The portrait dates back to 1562, but some consider the date of painting to be around 1566. During that period, Arcimboldo created a series of anthropomorphic portraits of people using various objects that had a connection with a person’s life or professional activity, such as fruits, vegetables, and flowers. However, in this case, using books, Arcimboldo for the first time painted a picture in which there are no elements of nature.

After his death in 1593 at the age of just 66, Arcimboldo was forgotten for a long time. Interest in him resurfaced in the 20th century, when he began to be called the “grandfather of surrealism”. Arcimboldo scholar Benno Geiger described the painting “The Librarian” as “a triumph of abstract art in the 16th century.” In 1957, art historian Sven Alfons was the first to conclude that this portrait depicts Wolfgang Lasius (1514-1565), a humanist and historian who served at the court of the Habsburg dynasty. In the context of interpreting the work as a satirical mockery of librarians and scholars, K. K. Elhard has suggested that the painting, which has become "an integral part of the visual history of the library profession", may be a parody of "materialistic book collectors more interested in acquiring books than in their reading." Despite all the provocativeness of the image, contemporaries recognized the fidelity of the portrait of the librarian, and 400 years later, the reputation of Lasius, who received books by any means, including theft, remains unchanged.

The figure of the librarian is built from rigidly geometric forms (cubist style): it represents a stack of books against the background of a gray-blue curtain. The fingers are paper bookmarks, greedily clutching books (a hint that more than 50 volumes came from Lazius's pen), the eyes are bone keys with charms (as a reference to the fussy storage of precious volumes), and the beard is a brush made of brushes for brushing away dust. The hairstyle is an open book with hooks (an allegory of filling the head with knowledge).

For a long time it was believed that the original “Librarian” hangs in the Swedish Skokloster Castle next to “Vertumnus” by the same artist. The original title of the painting is unknown; it was called “The Librarian” (Swedish: Bibliotekarien) during an inventory in the 20th century. In 1970, the painting was inserted into a new frame. It is believed that this painting was brought to Sweden as a war trophy by General Hans Christoph von Königsmarck after the sack of Prague Castle during the Battle of Prague in 1648.

A 2011 scientific study found that the Swedish "Librarian" is a late copy of Arcimboldo's original painting, the whereabouts of which are unknown. There are three other versions of the painting of worse quality.

This is part of a Wikipedia article used under the CC-BY-SA license. Full text of the article here →

Anyone looking at the paintings of Giuseppe Arcimboldo initially feels surprised. His completely extraordinary and unprecedented creativity is baffling. Any transformation or manipulation of the human face attracts attention, and this effect is enhanced when, in the visible “monsters”, instead of eyes, mouth, nose and cheeks, everything blooming and growing on earth is united together: flowers and cherries, peas, cucumbers, peaches, broken branches, and much more. Guided fantasy.

After centuries of oblivion, Arcimboldo was rediscovered in the 1930s when the director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Alfred Barr, included the artist's paintings in the exhibition "Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism." Since then, Arcimboldo has been considered a source of inspiration for the surrealists and their successors. For example, Salvador Dali, who was attracted to Arcimboldo’s allegorical portraits, called them the source of his inspiration. Mysterious characters emerge from flowers laid out like a carpet pattern, from plants and fruits piled on top of each other, from animals, birds or fish tightly gathered together, or from everyday objects.

Art critics also saw him as a typical representative of Mannerism, where the Renaissance style of harmony is characterized by a loss between the spiritual and the physical, nature and man.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo born and raised in the Italian city of Milan, in the family of the artist - painter Biagio Arcimboldo in 1527 (1526?) Since childhood, Giuseppe loved to fantasize, to invent things that actually do not happen, and even when he became an adult, he did not stop embodying his fantasies in the works he created. He painted many paintings both from memory and from nature, but it was the portraits created from his imagination that brought him fame.

At the invitation of the German Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand I invited the young artist to the position of court portrait painter for his son Maximilian II, who became emperor in 1564.

Returning to history, Maximilian II became King of Hungary in September 1563, so the artist was thirty-six years old when he left Milan, the capital of Lombardy.

Lombardy is considered the cradle of naturalism and as a mode of artistic expression based on the observations of natural form by Leonardo da Vinci, who spent seventeen years in Milan as court painter to Duke Lodovico (Ludovico) Maria Sforza.

Like his father, Arcimboldo worked actively in the workshop of the Milan Cathedral. In addition to making stained glass designs, he completed murals, banners, coats of arms and more. At the beginning of 1556 he worked on the frescoes in the Cathedral of Monza, and in 1560 he decorated the interior of the Cathedral of Como with tapestry, which served as an example of emulation in the work of other artists.

The great fame of Arcimboldo and the great name already made in Milan allowed the noble master to return to the Habsburg court as a portrait painter.

Emperor Rudolf II was an interesting and bright personality. And everything about him was inimitable: his office filled with works of art, scientific instruments, rare exhibits, and people - scientists, astronomers. And an artist like Arcimboldo with his special painting. And the court portrait painter began to take part in the search for exhibits for the collection of the imperial cabinet of curiosities: prepared and dried exotic fish from distant seas. Such exhibits allowed Arcimboldo to subsequently create compositional series of his works with precise accuracy, care and attention to detail.

Under Emperor Rudolf II (Son and successor of Maximilian II), elected in 1576, Arcimboldo showed his versatile talents. And he was awarded the court title of “master of festivities” for the invention of various mechanisms, musical instruments and paintings for grandiose theatrical performances and court celebrations.

The most grandiose celebration organized by Arcimboldo is considered to be the celebration of the marriage of Charles of Styria with Mary of Bavaria in August 1571, which lasted two days. Members of the imperial family and representatives of the aristocracy took part in the procession. Thus, Emperor Maximilian II depicted “Winter”, and the heir to the throne Rudolf II - “Sun”. Arcimboldo depicted Rudolf II in the image of the god of gardens Vertumnus - a fabulous deity of fertility.

And this is no coincidence. The emperor's huge art collection tells us about his extraordinary love for flowers, gardens, and rare exotic animals. The entire portrait is made up of gifts from nature. What an abundance of fruits and vegetables, flowers and fruits! This is a real harvest festival!

The seasons are always compared with a person’s age: spring with youth, summer with youth, autumn with maturity, winter with old age. And the artist expressed this in portraits. The young face of “Spring” seems to be woven from delicate flowers. “Summer” is a woman’s face made up of ears of corn, fruits and vegetables, and “Winter” is the face of an old man. But the main thing here is not the transfer of age. Arcimboldo showed how closely connected man and nature are. The gifts of nature are as much a part of the world as humans. A portrait of a person can be composed of the gifts of nature, of course, adding a dose of imagination, good-natured comedy, and the ability to create.

“Winter” is one of the most expressive in the series of allegorical paintings by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, reminiscent of Leonardo’s grotesques: in a gnarled and ancient tree trunk, the nose and ears are transformed from the remains of broken branches; narrowed eyes born from cracks in the bark; and the tree mushroom grew in the shape of lips. The guard hairs are entwined with ivy, and a branch with an overhanging lemon and orange protrudes from the figure's chest.

The fire on the straw-woven mantle symbolizes the knightly Order of the Golden Fleece, which remained under the Habsburg branch.

“Spring” captivates us with the freshness of foliage and the tender colors of the plant world. The entire portrait, starting from the head, blooms. The green leaves of nature's early larder cover the shoulders and chest. The lips are delicately emphasized. Charming lilies blossomed like a feather on the hat and, like the iris of the eyes, “reigned” in the middle of the chest in the form of a medallion. The portrait contains many different plants that bloom at different times of the year.

Apparently Arcimboldo First he examined individual types of plants, and then put them together in the picture.

Once the fantasy plays out, it is already difficult to stop, and this is evidenced by the painting “Summer” with the richness and variety of colors of the plant world. This lush assortment of fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains can be seen as a guide to the holiday menu of foods available at the time. The artist included rare varieties of vegetables here, such as corn and eggplant.

These crops were not important in Europe, and they began to be grown only in 1525. Looking closely, you can see in the painting how the artist has skillfully woven his signature and date into the straw and wool clothing, an illusion likely based on the classical ancient Greek painter Zeucllis of Heraclea. With his labors, in the past, a student of Apollodorus, earned such a huge fortune that he wove his name into outer clothing in gold.

In addition to performing the duties of a court painter, Arcimboldo was appointed by Maximilian II as a courtier of the “center of scientific research”, uniting scientists from different European countries. The botanical and zoological gardens he founded with elephants, lions and tigers, and especially the falcon, which was brought from Spain in 1575, created a sensation and a real sensation and Arcimboldo painted his portrait.

The series of the most unusual creations includes a series of paintings personifying the four elements - earth, air, fire, and water, created by the artist for Maximilian II. Like Seasons, portraits are presented in profile view. Two series of paintings are presented as if paired with each other: Air and a warm spring breeze, Fire and warmth of summer, Earth and dryness of autumn, Input and wet winter.

The composition of “Earth” consists of many interconnected animals and mammals.

The complex positions of animals such as wild boar, elk, red deer, fallow deer, black bull, construct an eye or neck in an amazing way. Several details clearly indicate the Habsburg dynasty: a crown (crown) with horns, the skin of the Lion of Hercules, the skin of a ram, symbolizing the Order of the Golden Fleece.

But the allegory of air is known only from copies, since Arcimboldo’s original version has not survived. The portrait consists entirely of birds, with special attention paid to the Imperial Eagle and Peacock, which symbolize Maximilian II and the Habsburg dynasty.

The painting “Fire” is especially expressive. The color scheme chosen was fire and gold. The fire covers the entire hair area of the head, and it is enough to rub two flints, imitating the nose and ear of the figure, so that they burst into sparks. The large stone is the cheek, and the neck and chin are made from a burning candle and a kerosene lamp. It doesn’t take much for the sparks surrounding the head to ignite the sulfur-soaked tinder wick and the small candle representing the eye. The smoldering flame of the oil lamp that makes up the chin and mouth is ready to set fire to the mustache made from a bunch of tied matches. A considerable arsenal of firearms fills the composition: pistols, barrels, a powder mortar and a cannon. The chest is decorated with symbols of the great Habsburg dynasty: the Double-headed eagle and a chain with the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Getting acquainted with the profile in the painting “Water”, we see that the head and body are completely drawn in a cold, gray-pearl color scheme. More than sixty species of fish and aquatic creatures are represented here, most of which are of Mediterranean origin. The walrus and the white-bellied seal are comparatively small in relation to the seahorse, and the crab is too large in relation to the turtle, which forms an integral part of the figure. Wit Arcimboldo What is striking is that the images of the mouth and eye do not belong to the open jaws of a shark, but are part of the ocean sunfish (Mola mola).

The Emperor was too pleased with the artist’s creations, he placed them in his “Archive of Wisdom” and, at every opportunity, mentioned the artist to relatives and rulers of Madrid, Munich and Dresden. Maximilian II commissioned Giuseppe Arcimboldo to create a copy of his “Four Seasons” and present it as a gift to the Elector of Saxony, Frederick Augustus of Saxony.

The floral borders framing each of the four pieces were added later by the artist.

It is worth paying attention to the compositional ideas expressed in various portraits of officials.

Arcimboldo chose the famous court historian Wolfgang Lasius as the subject of the portrait “Librarian”, and in the portrait “Lawyer” - the portrait of Vice-Chancellor Johann Ulrich Zasius. He also shows a genius ability to render objects that change depending on the angle from which they are viewed. It is the painted portraits with fried meat “Cook” on a platter or vegetables “Gardener” that contain another trick: these are reversible works. If you look at them upside down, you get a comic face.

1590. Oil on panel.

Civic Museum "Ala Ponzone", Cremona. 35.8 × 24.2

1570. Oil on panel.

Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. 52.5×41

Oil on the panel. French & Company, New York. 55.9 × 41.6

Arcimboldo spent the last decades of his career in the service of Emperor Rudolf II, working in Vienna and Prague. The artist's most famous works of the late period depict the emperor in the guise of Vertumnus, the ancient Roman God of the seasons and various gifts. The artist continued to work on paintings for the emperor, and in 1592, Emperor Rudolf II awarded the artist the honorary court title of Count Palatine, and in 1593, Arcimboldo died of kidney failure.

Presents for the first time about twenty of the one hundred surviving paintings by one of the main artists of the High Renaissance. Museums and institutions that own works by Giuseppe Arcimboldo are reluctant to lend them. Therefore, seeing a fifth of his surviving heritage is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo
"Self-Portrait" 1575
23.1 × 15.7 cm
National Gallery, Prague

Giuseppe Arcimboldi, known as Arcimboldo (1526 or 1527 - 1593), received his first artistic training in the workshop of his father Biagio in Milan. Already at the age of 21, he began creating stained glass windows and frescoes for the city cathedral. In 1562, the recognized artist was invited to the court by the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I of Habsburg. Arcimboldo then served his son Maximilian II and grandson Rudolf II in Vienna and Prague. He was not only a court painter, but also a decorator, costume creator and organizer of festivities.

Allegory of the Seasons, follower of Arcimboldo

Painting of the School of Giuseppe Arcimboldi (Arcimboldo) (1527-1593) 16th century
Naples, museo di Capodimonte

Four Seasons in One Head
circa 1590
oil on panel
44.7 cm x 60.4 cm
National Gallery of Art

Fruit basket. When turned upside down, the painting is a portrait. Oil on wood panel, around 1590
Reversible Head with Basket of Fruit
circa 1590
oil on panel
56 x 42 cm
Frencht & Company, New York.