Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Arcimboldo (1527 - July 11, 1593) was an Italian painter born in Milan, best known for his whimsical portrait creations. He painted imaginative portrait heads made entirely of objects unrelated to the human head. Objects were arranged using gestalt principles in which the organized whole created an image unique and separate from the individual parts. Using fruits, vegetables, fish, flowers, books and animals he introduced humor, riddles and puzzles into the visual arts. He also enjoyed a career as a portrait and fresco painter, stained glass artist and designer of tapestries. In many respects his art is as fresh and interesting as it was when he created it during the Renaissance. Most that are seeing his work for the first time will perceive it as recently produced.