The Nature/Fantasy Paintings of Guiseppe Archimboldo

As an artist in the mid-1500's, Guiseppe Archimboldo worked for wealthy patrons such as Maximillian II, who ruled the Holy Roman Empire during the 16th century. Maximillian wanted to be a leader in scientific study, so he built an enormous zoo where he collected animals and plants from all over the world. Archimboldo and other artists cataloged these animals and plants by drawing detailed realistic “portraits” of these new species as they arrived.

For some reason, this artist of the Renaissance decided to create paintings of people made from collections of animals and other objects. This took his art from the world of reality into the realm of imagination. Spring

Archimboldo didn't always use realistic scale when creating one of his fantasy portraits. In Water (1566) the image of the seahorse at the back of the head is almost as large as the seal near it. The octopus on the right would be enormous in real life, but it is dwarfed by the crab on the left...

Archimbolo's knowledge of flowers and other plants was extensive.

It is interesting to see this painting also upside down, where it looks like food on a platter instead of a face, as on the left. The Cook, 1570

Through Archimboldo's genius, a basket of fruit becomes the face of a man on the right. Reversible Head With Basket of Fruit, 1590

Onions and parsnips, anyone?

Air

Because most art during the Renaissance idealized human beauty, Archimboldo was intrigued by the ugliness shown in some of Leonardo Da Vinci's drawings which were created years earlier.

Notice how the artist played with scale again in this painting. Earth, (1570)

The Librarian

Vertumnus 1590

The objects in Archimboldo's portraits were juxtaposed and overlapped to create his strange works of art. Maximillian loved these works and displayed them in his private museum. When he died, his son Rudolph II became emperor and continued to support Archimboldo's work. Archimboldo passed away in 1593, and was virtually forgotten until the 1920's when a group of young artists known as the Surrealists rediscovered him. Surrealist artist Andre' Breton labeled him “the grandfather of Surrealism.”.

Art 2 Your next assignment will be to create a portrait in the style of Archimboldo. You will need to choose a theme for your work - Archimboldo chose items from nature for his themes, but you may update your picture by using modern objects. Choose something you like and know as a theme for this! To finish this work, you may use a pencil to draw and shade; you may sketch your picture and finish it by painting in details; you may also draw and then finish with colored pencils. It's up to you. You might want to start by finding a picture of a profile then trace the outline onto a sheet of drawing paper. Then, begin sketching in objects (from your theme) that fit into the outline. This project should take at least a week to finish - don't rush.

Your next assignment will be to create a “portrait” of a person using a collection of objects that you select and combine in Photoshop. One way to start your artwork would be to find a photo of a profile of a person and use that as your first layer. Reduce the opacity of it, then create a new layer to begin working on. Next, decide on the theme of your work. All the items you use must be connected so your picture has an evident theme. Choose the photos you work with carefully. If they pixelate when you open them, you must choose a different photo. You will be graded on the creativity of your theme, the quality of your selections, and the overall composition of your artwork. Make your project 8 ½ x 11 inches. Your work must utilize at least 10 different items, copied as many times as needed to complete the picture. You can rotate, mirror-image, resize objects as needed. Visual Graphic Art -