Giuseppe Arcimboldo
(Milan 1525–1593)
Spring from a set of The Four Seasons
oil on canvas
75.5 x 56.9 cm (29¾ x 22⅜ in.)
1572
The Klesch Collection holds a complete set of The Four Seasons by Giuseppe Arcimboldo.
‘Arcimboldo may rightly be regarded as a virtuoso entertainer and an artificer of fantasy, but he was surely also something more. He was a learned painter with literary aspirations who was also a scrupulous imitator of nature.’
Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, Arcimboldo: Visual Jokes, Natural History, and Still-Life Painting, Chicago and London 2009, p. 217
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Giuseppe Arcimboldo was born in Milan in 1527. Even though this most original 16th-century Mannerist painter is best known for his unique paintings of composite figures, he started his career designing cartoons for stained-glass windows of the Cathedral in Milan. He was court painter to three generations of Holy Roman Emperors, first to Ferdinand I (1503–1564), whom he joined in Vienna in 1562, and later to Maximilian II (1527–1576) and his son Rudolf II (1552–1612) at the court in Prague.1
It was for Maximilian II in 1563 that Arcimboldo created the first set of The Four Seasons (Winter and Summer are now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). Arcimboldo painted several of these series, each with individual variations. Some of these series were part of royal collections, such as those of the Emperor, the Duke of Saxony and the King of Spain. This painting, depicting Spring, is part of a set of The Four Seasons, painted in 1572, and according to Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, it is currently the only full set in private hands.2 These bizarre works were greatly admired by Arcimboldo’s contemporaries, and given the Renaissance fascination with riddles and puzzles, he brilliantly catered to the taste of his time.3 Testament to their enduring fascination, his works were rediscovered by 20th-century Surrealist artists such as Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) and remain a source of great interest and inspiration today. Arcimboldo returned to his hometown of Milan after his service in Prague, where he died in 1593.4
1 K. Kuiper, ‘Giuseppe Arcimboldo’, Encyclopædia Britannica, 10 November 2006, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giuseppe-Arcimboldo.
2 T.D. Kaufmann, in private correspondence, 2010.
3 L. Salerno, La Natura Morta Italiana 1580–1805, Rome 1984, n.p.
4 ‘Biography’, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, The Complete Works, accessed 22 June 2020, https://www.giuseppe-arcimboldo.org/biography.html.
Dr Axel Wenner-Gren (1881–1961), Paris and later Stockholm;
By whose Estate sold, Sotheby’s, London, 24 March 1965, lot 34 (Winter and Spring) for £4,200 and lot 35 (Summer and Autumn) for £4,000, to ‘Antiqua Anstalt’;
With H. Terry-Engell Gallery, 8 Bury Street, London, 1965;
From whom acquired in 1966 by a private collector, Berlin;
Thence by descent to his grandson;
From whom acquired through Koetser Gallery, Zürich, by The Klesch Collection.
London, Gallery Terry-Engell, Fifteen Important Old Master Paintings, 1965–66, nos 6–9;
Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli, Natura in Posa, September–October 1968, nos 3–6;
Venice, Palazzo Grassi, Effetto Arcimboldo, 15 February – 31 May 1987 (only Winter shown).
S. Alfons, ‘Giuseppe Arcimboldo’, Tidskrift för konstvetenskap, 31, 1957, p. 41, Spring and Winter repr. pp. 37 and 40;
T. Crombie, ‘The Season’s Start: Arcimboldo to Alken’, Apollo LXXXII, no. 44, October 1965, pp. 335–37, Autumn repr. p. 335, fig. 1;
‘Notable works of art now on the market: supplement’, The Burlington Magazine,107, no. 783, December 1965, p. 28 and pl. nos VI–IX;
E. Lucie-Smith, ‘Arcimboldo. H. Terry-Engell Gallery’, Arts Review, XVII, no. 22, 1965, Autumn repr. p. 4;
‘Arcimboldo’s Seasons’, The Times, London, 16 October 1965, Autumn repr. p. 4;
H. Terry-Engell, Fifteen Important Old Master Paintings, exh. cat., London 1965, nos VI–IX, repr.;
F. Bologna in Natura in Posa, exh. cat., Galleria Lorenzelli, Bergamo 1968, nos 3–6, repr.;
R. Barthes, Arcimboldo, Milan 1978, pp. 38–45, repr. pp. 39, 41, 43 and 45;
R. Barthes, ‘Arcimboldo: Le Magicien des Habsbourg’, Le Figaro, 4 April 1978, no. 5, p. 22;
F. Porzio, L’universo illusorio di Arcimboldo, Milan 1979, p. 10;
A. Veca, Parádeisos: dall’universo del fiore, exh. cat., Galleria Lorenzelli, Bergamo 1982, pp. 290–91, Spring repr. p. 291;
L. Salerno, La natura morta italiana, Rome 1984, pp. 6–7, repr. nos 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4;
A. Veca, ‘La parabola delle merce, dalla scena rustica alla natura morta’, in G. Taborelli (ed.), Commercio in Lombardia, Milano 1986, Summer and Autumn repr. pp. 200–1;
P. Falchetta (ed.), The Arcimboldo effect: transformations of the face from the 16th to the 20th century, exh. cat., Palazzo Grassi, Venice 1987, Winter repr. p. 173;
A. Veca, Lombardia 1620 circa: natura morta delle origini, exh. cat., Galleria Lorenzelli, Bergamo 1989, Summer, no. 1, repr.;
W. Kriegeskorte, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Cologne 2003, pp. 28–35, repr. pp. 29, 31, 33 and 35.
If you would like to use this image for educational purposes, please contact us.
Hover to zoom to maximum level or click to enlarge
Giuseppe Arcimboldo
(Milan 1525–1593)
Spring from a set of The Four Seasons
oil on canvas
75.5 x 56.9 cm (29¾ x 22⅜ in.)
1572
The Klesch Collection holds a complete set of The Four Seasons by Giuseppe Arcimboldo.
‘Arcimboldo may rightly be regarded as a virtuoso entertainer and an artificer of fantasy, but he was surely also something more. He was a learned painter with literary aspirations who was also a scrupulous imitator of nature.’
Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, Arcimboldo: Visual Jokes, Natural History, and Still-Life Painting, Chicago and London 2009, p. 217
Giuseppe Arcimboldo was born in Milan in 1527. Even though this most original 16th-century Mannerist painter is best known for his unique paintings of composite figures, he started his career designing cartoons for stained-glass windows of the Cathedral in Milan. He was court painter to three generations of Holy Roman Emperors, first to Ferdinand I (1503–1564), whom he joined in Vienna in 1562, and later to Maximilian II (1527–1576) and his son Rudolf II (1552–1612) at the court in Prague.1
It was for Maximilian II in 1563 that Arcimboldo created the first set of The Four Seasons (Winter and Summer are now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). Arcimboldo painted several of these series, each with individual variations. Some of these series were part of royal collections, such as those of the Emperor, the Duke of Saxony and the King of Spain. This painting, depicting Spring, is part of a set of The Four Seasons, painted in 1572, and according to Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, it is currently the only full set in private hands.2 These bizarre works were greatly admired by Arcimboldo’s contemporaries, and given the Renaissance fascination with riddles and puzzles, he brilliantly catered to the taste of his time.3 Testament to their enduring fascination, his works were rediscovered by 20th-century Surrealist artists such as Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) and remain a source of great interest and inspiration today. Arcimboldo returned to his hometown of Milan after his service in Prague, where he died in 1593.4
1 K. Kuiper, ‘Giuseppe Arcimboldo’, Encyclopædia Britannica, 10 November 2006, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giuseppe-Arcimboldo.
2 T.D. Kaufmann, in private correspondence, 2010.
3 L. Salerno, La Natura Morta Italiana 1580–1805, Rome 1984, n.p.
4 ‘Biography’, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, The Complete Works, accessed 22 June 2020, https://www.giuseppe-arcimboldo.org/biography.html.
Dr Axel Wenner-Gren (1881–1961), Paris and later Stockholm;
By whose Estate sold, Sotheby’s, London, 24 March 1965, lot 34 (Winter and Spring) for £4,200 and lot 35 (Summer and Autumn) for £4,000, to ‘Antiqua Anstalt’;
With H. Terry-Engell Gallery, 8 Bury Street, London, 1965;
From whom acquired in 1966 by a private collector, Berlin;
Thence by descent to his grandson;
From whom acquired through Koetser Gallery, Zürich, by The Klesch Collection.
London, Gallery Terry-Engell, Fifteen Important Old Master Paintings, 1965–66, nos 6–9;
Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli, Natura in Posa, September–October 1968, nos 3–6;
Venice, Palazzo Grassi, Effetto Arcimboldo, 15 February – 31 May 1987 (only Winter shown).
S. Alfons, ‘Giuseppe Arcimboldo’, Tidskrift för konstvetenskap, 31, 1957, p. 41, Spring and Winter repr. pp. 37 and 40;
T. Crombie, ‘The Season’s Start: Arcimboldo to Alken’, Apollo LXXXII, no. 44, October 1965, pp. 335–37, Autumn repr. p. 335, fig. 1;
‘Notable works of art now on the market: supplement’, The Burlington Magazine,107, no. 783, December 1965, p. 28 and pl. nos VI–IX;
E. Lucie-Smith, ‘Arcimboldo. H. Terry-Engell Gallery’, Arts Review, XVII, no. 22, 1965, Autumn repr. p. 4;
‘Arcimboldo’s Seasons’, The Times, London, 16 October 1965, Autumn repr. p. 4;
H. Terry-Engell, Fifteen Important Old Master Paintings, exh. cat., London 1965, nos VI–IX, repr.;
F. Bologna in Natura in Posa, exh. cat., Galleria Lorenzelli, Bergamo 1968, nos 3–6, repr.;
R. Barthes, Arcimboldo, Milan 1978, pp. 38–45, repr. pp. 39, 41, 43 and 45;
R. Barthes, ‘Arcimboldo: Le Magicien des Habsbourg’, Le Figaro, 4 April 1978, no. 5, p. 22;
F. Porzio, L’universo illusorio di Arcimboldo, Milan 1979, p. 10;
A. Veca, Parádeisos: dall’universo del fiore, exh. cat., Galleria Lorenzelli, Bergamo 1982, pp. 290–91, Spring repr. p. 291;
L. Salerno, La natura morta italiana, Rome 1984, pp. 6–7, repr. nos 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4;
A. Veca, ‘La parabola delle merce, dalla scena rustica alla natura morta’, in G. Taborelli (ed.), Commercio in Lombardia, Milano 1986, Summer and Autumn repr. pp. 200–1;
P. Falchetta (ed.), The Arcimboldo effect: transformations of the face from the 16th to the 20th century, exh. cat., Palazzo Grassi, Venice 1987, Winter repr. p. 173;
A. Veca, Lombardia 1620 circa: natura morta delle origini, exh. cat., Galleria Lorenzelli, Bergamo 1989, Summer, no. 1, repr.;
W. Kriegeskorte, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Cologne 2003, pp. 28–35, repr. pp. 29, 31, 33 and 35.
If you would like to use this image for educational purposes, please contact us.