Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Giuseppe's father, Biagio Arcimboldo, was an artist of Milan. Like his

father, Giuseppe Arcimboldo started his career as a designer for stained
glass and frescoes at local cathedrals when he was 21 years old
Portrait was composed of only
various spring flowers and
plants. From the hat to the
neck, every part of the
portrait, even the lips and
nose, was composed of
flowers, while the body was
composed of plants. On the
other hand, in The Winter, the
human was composed mostly
of roots of trees. Some leaves
from evergreen trees and the
branches of other trees
became hair, while a straw
mat became the costume of
the
portrait.
Afterhuman
a portrait
was released
to the public, some scholars,
who had a close relationship
with the book culture at that
time, argued that the portrait
ridiculed their scholarship.
Arcimboldo died in Milan,
where he had retired after
leaving the Prague service. It
was during this last phase of
his career that he produced
the composite portrait of
Rudolph II (see above), as well
as his self-portrait as the Four
Seasons. His Italian
contemporaries honoured him
with poetry and manuscripts
celebrating his illustrious
career.