The metaphors of yesteryear
Year of birth: 1526 11 July 1593 Giuseppe Arcimboldo (in many archival documents is referred to as Giuseppe Arcimboldi) was born in 1526 in Milan, the son of the painter Biagio, engaged at the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo and heir to an aristocratic family. Joseph starts around 1549, his artistic activity in the shop of his father, drawing cartoons that will be used to create stained glass windows of the Cathedral. Specializing in this activity also in the following years, helping to create the cartoons of the story of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Around the age of thirty, he devoted himself to the representation, together with Giuseppe Meda, the "Jesse tree", a monumental fresco located in the north transept of the Cathedral of Monza, and the creation of a cartoon for the Cathedral of Como. These are years of intense activity, both in the field of painting and other artistic fields: However, there is little official information about these years. The episode will change the life of Joseph takes place in 1562, when he goes to Vienna by Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, Prince and future emperor. In the Austrian capital Arcimboldo reaches for a reputed important, accompanied by remarkable economic Awards: the catalogue of the works we have today, in fact, represents only a small part of its business at the time, of which we have little news. The culmination of his artistic expression is achieved with the "Composite Heads", noted grotesque appearances made by combining objects or living things. Just think of the eight tables that depict the four elements of Aristotle's Cosmology (IE water, Earth, fire and air) and the four seasons: eight allegories designed for the walls of the imperial residence, where you can enjoy a variety of great colors, reflecting correspondences between macrocosm and microcosm. Particularly admire are the "four seasons": their variants and copies are made and donated to European monarchs and nobility as a sign of diplomacy by Maximilian II. Joseph, in any case, does not practice only as court painter: the Emperor, in fact, rely on him for parades, games and masquerades which Gladden the court life. An example of this is the wedding of Maria Anna of Bavaria and the Archduke Charles II of Austria, where creativity of the milanese artist is expressed in the Organization of weddings. His engagement as choreographer of the most important events of the Court of Vienna is witnessed by 148 drawings that are part of the "book of Rudolf II", currently located in the Uffizi Florentines in drawings and prints. These works represent, among other things, parades, costumes, Knights, ladies, parades etc. Arcimboldi remains court artist to death of Maximilian, when command of the Empire is hired by the new emperor Rudolf II: even appreciates the virtues, aided by his interest in esoteric and alchemical studies. So, when the capital was moved from Vienna to Prague, Joseph moves in tow of the Court, becoming increasingly trusted advisor: is, in fact, made count Palatine, for contributing to the growth of the prosperity of the place. In 1587, Arcimboldi returned to Milan, where he made paintings "Rudolf II as Vertumnus" and "Nymph Flora", before dying the day 11 July 1593. The fame of Giuseppe Arcimboldi you lose a few decades after his death, and will come back strongly in art only in the twentieth century, thanks to the emergence of Surrealist painting. During this period back then to appreciate the "heads Composed", made a sort of Trompe-L'Oeil by combining elements of the same scope (for example books, or vegetables, or fish) metaphorically linked to the subject which is represented. The debt of the milanese artist against deformation is evident, as well as to the physiognomic Leonardo ruminations Alchemy of time, which is no stranger the Kabbalistic and magical culture of the 16th century. His is an art perfectly inserted in his time, that hiding behind a certain playfulness is in search of the real meaning--but concealed-of things, as in "still life". Currently, in Palazzo Rosso in Genoa is retained his self portrait on paper ", while in the Museo Civico Ala Ponzone of Cremona is" vegetables in a bowl ". The Skoklosters slott Stockholm houses "lawyer," "the librarian" and "portrait of Rudolf II as Vertumnus".