The Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo (around 1526 to 1593) painted fantastical images and created spectacular events for the royal courts in Vienna and Prague.
When his portraits are viewed from a distance, they seem quite conventional, but as you look closer and closer, you can see they are made up from objects, like a still-life. His works are amazingly detailed, and were designed to amuse the members of the court.
Teach your children about Giuseppe Arcimboldo using our handy topic guide!
Teaching Ideas
- Use fruit to make Arcimboldo style portraits and photograph them.
- Use this interactive Arcimboldo art creator to design your own masterpiece.
- Challenge children to draw themselves in Arcimboldo’s style.
- Look closely at one of Arcimboldo’s paintings, for example Summer. How many fruit and vegetables can you identify? Where in the world are they grown? Why did he choose that particular item?
- Use one of Arcimboldo’s paintings and make a list of adjectives that could be used to describe the elements of it.
- Look carefully at The Librarian. Arcimboldo has made the figure out of books. What items could be used for other jobs? For example, a computer programmer’s portrait could be made from parts of a computer. Collect ideas and make a list.
Resources
- Download our fact cards as a reading and research resource.
- The Kiddle Arcimboldo page is a great place to start researching his life and works.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo Facts
- Giuseppe Arcimboldo was probably born in 1526 or 1527 in Milan, Italy.
- Arcimboldo is now famous for his composite portraits, which use painted fruit, vegetables and other items to look like a human figure.
- Arcimboldo was a court painter for three Holy Roman Emperors.
- Some of Arcimboldo’s portraits are reversible, and are designed to show a completely different image when viewed upside down, such as “Reversible Head with Basket of Fruit.”
- Arcimboldo was very famous during his lifetime, but he was largely forgotten about after his death. His work was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th Century and influenced the work of Salvador Dali and the surrealists.
Videos
Art with Mati and Dada
Is that a bowl of vegetables, or a strange looking man wearing a hat?
Running time: 7:27
Mister Maker Discovers Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s Food Art
Mister Maker learns how the artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo used food to make some very funny art.
Running time: 1:22
Painter Arcimboldo and His Unique Style of Portraiture
Older children will enjoy learning about Arcimboldo in this short video.
Running time: 3:56
Draw Like Giuseppe Arcimboldo
This tutorial will inspired children to make their own Arcimboldo style picture.
Running time: 4:04
Books
Links
- This reference site has information and lots of images that are useful for this topic.
- Research Arcimboldo on this page from Primary Facts.
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