c. 1590
“Vertumnus – Rudolf II,” depicts Rudolph II (1552-1612), Holy Roman Emperor from 1576, as Vertumnus, the ancient Roman god of seasons who presided over gardens and orchards.
Image: Public Domain
Born to a Milanese artist, Giuseppe Arcimboldo became a court portraitist in 1562, when he began delighting his Hapsburg patrons with lavish and bizarre portraits composed entirely of fruits, vegetables and other organic elements
He first presented these composite portraits in 1569 in two sets of four. One set, “The Four Seasons,” contained portraits rooted in seasonal crops and plants, while another set, “The Four Elements,” assembled faces out of sea creatures, birds, mammals and flammables to represent water, air, earth and fire. Read more…
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