Guiseppe Arcimboldo

I think I've seen these before from Arc. They are pretty famous, but I didn't really know anything about them or about the artist. I was so excited to see them because I didn't realize that people painted like this in the 1500s. Some people say that these are the first surrealist paintings, but they are more likely a reaction to the growing interest in science and nature. They are considered to be in the movement of mannerism.

Arcimboldo was from Milan and did work conventional work for various cathedrals and for the Duomo. He also did portraits for Hapsburg royalty. His conventional work is lost, but these bizarre paintings have sparked a lot of interest and inspiration over the last few centuries. They inspired Dali expecially.

Some art historians think these were the work of a derranged mind. Some don't think they were and they were just part of the facsination of the times. Da Vinci, for example, and his grotesque head explorations.



















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