Giuseppe Arcimboldo - Four Seasons in One Head - c. 1590
The flowers and fruit (apples, plums, grapes, and cherries) in the Four Seasons compare with the same or similar nature motifs in Arcimboldo's other works. In particular, the gnarled and rather menacing tree trunk and branches find exact parallels in the versions of Winter in the Louvre and in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. The Four Seasons has the additional interest of the more engaging three-quarter view, unlike the strict profile Arcimboldo adopted for the Seasons and the Elements. The Four Seasons stands out in other respects as well. By contrast to the whimsical character of much of Arcimboldo's work, the mood is darker and more somber. The Four Seasons is also the most closely related of all Arcimboldo's composite heads to the physiognomic studies of Leonardo da Vinci, Arcimboldo's predecessor in Milan. Painted around 1590, after Arcimboldo had returned to his native city, the Four Seasons is one of his last works. If not a self-portrait of the artist in the "winter" of his life, the painting is a summa of his career - National Gallery of Art
Size: 2837px × 4000px
Photo credit: © steeve-x-art / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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