Giuseppe Arcimboldo: An Original Artist

Vertumnus by Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was a creative italian painter who made artwork like no one else of his time. He was born in Milan in the year 1527 and died on July 11th, 1953. He was 66 years old when he passed and lived in Milan for most of his life. In 1562, he was named court portraitist to Ferdinand I in Vienna. In 1570 he became head portraitist of Maximilian II and Rudolph II in Prague. Some people argue that he was mentally unstable for creating such strange paintings. Others find his work fascinating and whimsicle. His work was normally portraits of people made out of fruits, vegetables, books, and other household items. Giuseppe arranged all the items in his paintings so that they closely resembled what he was actually looking at. They are very memorable and he was extremely talented.

There are so many different things in this painting. The things that seem to stand out the most are the large pumpkin taking up a big part of the chest and the cherries that make the lips. One shoulder is a cabbage and the other is an artichoke. The eyebrows are made of peas and the beard and hair constist of many things, but mostly grapes. Near the bottom of the painting, there are many flowers that could represent the clothing. The last few things that stand out are the pear representing the nose and the apples, corn stalks, and cherries on the top of the head. Everything works out and fits so nicely that this painting looks exactly like a man, and at first glance it might not even be noticeable that he is made out of fruit and vegetables.

I think that Giuseppe was a child artchetype. He seems to have had a fun personality and was very creative. The ideas he had could easily be something a child could think of, but not always an adult. He didn't stay inside the box. This painting could represent a rebirth. The person is not made out of any human things at all, but only fruits, vegetables, and flowers. It could represent something being very pure and natural. Giuseppe may have been a nature child arcehtype because he was so fascinated with organic items.

I wonder how many people think that his work is strange and came from a warped mind, and how many people find it creative in a beautiful way.