A painting of a human head in which all the features are
fruits or vegetables might sound like something produced by Salvador Dali or
René Magritte, so it comes as a surprise when one realises that this work was
created more than 400 years ago.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo was born around 1530 in Milan, Italy,
and he died in 1593. He began his career designing stained-glass windows for
Milan Cathedral, but he left Italy in 1562 to become court painter to successive
Hapsburg kings in Vienna and Prague, although he was later to return to Milan.
The taste of the Habsburg monarchs was for art that was far removed
from the High Renaissance style that had characterised the art that Arcimboldo
would have been used to in Italy. The term “Mannerist” is sometimes given to post-Renaissance
art, throughout Europe, that is often thought to be inferior, but which
represented a change in taste and a willingness to experiment with new ways of
expressing ideas on canvas and in other media. Arcimboldo’s work is thus
generally characterised as Mannerist.
The taste of Arcimboldo’s Habsburg employers was certainly
different from that of earlier patrons of the arts. For one thing they were
secular patrons, as opposed to the Catholic Church which had commissioned much
of the work produced by Italian artists during the previous centuries. For
another, they appreciated art that was witty, unusual, and even bizarre.
“Summer” certainly falls into the latter category. It was
painted in 1573 for Emperor Maximilian II (reigned 1564-76). It was part of a
series that depicted the Four Seasons, which was a popular theme that
Arcimboldo turned to several times during his career, his first set dating from
1562.
The painting, which measures 30x25 inches (76x63.5cm) depicts
the head of a person (probably a woman) seen in
right profile. Every part of the head is a fruit or vegetable, and it is quite
a challenge to identify what all of them might be. Clearly they would have been
in season in that part of Europe at the time when the painting was made. There
are definitely apples, pears and cherries there, plus at least one potato, a
courgette (for the nose), grapes, garlic and hazelnuts. Ears of wheat appear be
growing out of the collar of the tunic, on the shoulder of which the date 1573
is clearly visible.
The artist has managed to give the head a certain amount of
character and expression, despite its construction. The face is smiling, up to
a point, given that the shapes of the fruit that form the mouth make for a
somewhat unnatural looking grin. However, it is a happy face that is clearly
intended to symbolise joy and good health. “Eat your fruit and veg”, the
painting seems to say, “and a long and healthy life will be yours”.
Whether the painting counts as great art, however, is
another point altogether. It is certainly clever, and it is bound to bring a
smile to the observer’s face, but that is probably as much as one can say. It
is, in effect, a “still life”, such as many artists paint almost as an
exercise. It is not particularly beautiful, nor does it convey a message of any
great profundity beyond that mentioned above. The brushwork, composition and
colour balance are all adequate, but in no way outstanding.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who turned his attention to many other
activities at the behest of the Habsburgs, including architecture and stage
design, is unlikely to feature on many people’s lists of the world’s all-time
greatest artists. That said, he was certainly way ahead of his time in terms of
what could be done with paint and canvas beyond visual representation, and he
certainly has a claim to be considered as one of the fathers of surrealism.
“Summer” can be viewed at the Louvre in Paris, France.
© John Welford
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