Winter
1563, Artist: Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Winter
Arcimboldo had been imperial court painter in Vienna and Prague since 1562. As well as a portraitist, he was mainly renowned for his work as a producer and designer of courtly tournaments and wedding celebrations. In 1563, however, he created a series of paintings of the seasons, the uniqueness of which was the basis of the painter’s later fame. Made up of plant pieces and fruit, at no point on “Winter” can we see the surface of a natural face. The letter M on the collar’s tangle of straw hints at Emperor Maximilian who commissioned the series.
Object data
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Italian, Lombard
Dated
1563
Artist
Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526 - 1593 Mailand) - GND
Material
Limewood
Dimensions
66,6 cm x 50,5 cm
Framed: 79,5 cm × 63 cm × 5,5 cm
Signed
Inscribed at lower right: GIVSEPPE ARCIMBOLDO. F.
Inscribed
auf der Rückseite: 1563 HIEMS
Image rights
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Gemäldegalerie
Inv. No.
Gemäldegalerie, 1590
Provenance
Painted for Archduke Maximilian, the later Emperor Maximilian (?); from the treasury of Rudolf II; 1748 in the Vienna treasury; from 1830 in the picture gallery
100 Meisterwerke - Winter - Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Permalink (citable Link) to this page: www.khm.at/en/object/72/
Kunst & Patenschaft
This object is still without a Art Patron. Accept the patronage and make sure that this cultural treasure is preserved for future generations.
Your donation is a direct and sustainable contribution to the scientific documentation, research, restoration, and presentation of the artworks of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien.
