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Although
Giuseppe Arcimboldo was extremely famous during his lifetime, he was soon
forgotten after his death. We do not know why people ever lost interest
in his art. Perhaps he was misunderstood by the generations that followed.
The interest to his abstruse and fantastic pictures, of which we only have
a very few originals, nowadays, revived only at the end of the 19th century.
Apart from the fantastic pictures, he probably painted quite a few more
traditional ones. But many of these, too, seem to have disappeared.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo was born into the family of a painter for the Milan
Cathedral in 1527. The other variants of the name: Josephus, Joseph or
Josepho Arcimboldi or Arcimboldus. It is uncertain which version is the
correct one, because the painter used all these variants to sign his works.
Many art historians agreed to use the variant of Giuseppe Arcimboldo.
In 1549, at the age of 22, Giuseppe Arcimboldo made his debut as an artist.
The records of the Milan Cathedral tell us that, together with his father,
he was paid for designing several stained glass windows. He went on to
work for the Milan Cathedral after his father’s death, until 1558. During
this period he designed stained glass windows for the Milan Cathedral and
several gobelin tapestries for the Como Cathedral.
In 1562, Giuseppe Arcimboldo became a court painter of Emperor Ferdinand
I (Habsburg) and left for Vienna, then moved to Prague. During the 2 years,
when Arcimboldo served Ferdinand I, he painted several portraits
of the Imperial family as well as the first series of his Four Seasons.
The artistic concept of these pictures of 1563 was unique and laid the
foundation of Arcimboldo’s success as a painter. The documents of the time
bear witness to the fact that monarchs and his contemporaries in general
were quite enthusiastic about his art.
When Ferdinand I died, in 1564, and was succeeded by Emperor Maximilian
II (1527-1576), Arcimboldo continued as his court artist. There is little
doubt that a large number of pictures were painted between 1564 and 1576,
but only very few of them are known to us: Water
and Fire (1566), The
Lawyer (1566), The Cook
(1570) another series of the Four Seasons in 1572, two series of Four Seasons
in 1573, including Spring
(1573), Summer (1573), Autumn
(1573), Winter (1573). In
1575 Arcimboldo made several paintings for the private chambers of the
Emperor. We do not know of any other works. But apart from painting, Arcimboldo
also had other duties at the Imperial court. As he was a man of many talents
he also served the Emperor as an architect, stage designer, engineer, water
engineer and art specialist. Because of his extensive knowledge he was
able to exert his influence on Maximilian II.
Like his 2 predecessors, Emperor Rudolph II (1552-1612) also took Arcimboldo
into his service. The eleven years, which the artist spent with Rudolph
II, were probably the peak of his career. The Emperor was extremely fond
of Arcimboldo and showed great appreciation for him. All we know about
Arcimboldo’s activities as an artist at the Imperial court is that
he painted The Four Seasons twice in 1577, that he dedicated a red leather
folio containing 150 pen-and-ink drawings to the Emperor in 1585, and that
he organized a number of festive processions and tournaments in the same
year. We have no knowledge of any further pictures, which he might have
painted, at the court in Prague after 1585.
In 1587, after 11 years of service and a number of urgent requests, Arcimboldo
finally received permission from Rudolph II to return to his native Milan.
And so he went back in the same year, but honored the Emperor’s request
to continue working for him even, though he was no longer in his service.
In 1591 he painted two of his most famous pictures, Flora
(c.1591) and Vertumnus
(1590-1591), which he sent to Prague. Vertumnus was particularly appreciated
by everyone, especially by Rudolph himself. It is a head-and-shoulder portrait
of the Emperor, showing him in the form of Vertumnus, the ancient Roman
god of vegetation and transformation. Rudolph consists entirely of magnificent
fruits, flowers and vegetables. Delighted with these paintings, Rudolph
II awarded Arcimboldo one of his highest orders in 1592. Next year
on 11 July 1593 the painter died.
Bibliography:
Arcimboldo
by Federico Zeri. NDE Publishing, 2001.
Giuseppe
Arcimboldo 1527-1593 (Basic Art Series) by Giuseppe Arcimboldi,
Werner Kriegeskorte. TASCHEN America Llc, 1994.
The Portrait of Eccentricity: Arcimboldo and the Mannerist Grotesque
by Giancarlo Maiorino. Pennsylvania State Univ Pr , 1991.
Hello,
Fruit Face!: The Paintings of Guiseppe Arcimboldo (Adventures
in Art) by Claudia Strand. Prestel, 1999.