Arcimboldo

By Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann,

Book cover of Arcimboldo: Visual Jokes, Natural History, and Still-Life Painting

Book description

In Giuseppe Arcimboldo's most famous paintings, grapes, fish, and even the beaks of birds form human hair. A pear stands in for a man's chin. Citrus fruits sprout from a tree trunk that doubles as a neck. All sorts of natural phenomena come together on canvas and panel to assemble…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Arcimboldo as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Ugliness can be playful. When students encounter Arcimboldo for the first time, they find him enchanting. 

The artist layers images of objects, mainly from nature, such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, tree roots, and sea creatures, but also other objects, such as books, onto the canvas so as to create the bizarre semblance of a portrait or the creative rendition of a theme. The Viennese court painter dissolves boundaries between portraiture, still life, and landscape as well as between nature and humanity. 

This book offers a comprehensive understanding of Arcimboldo, from his youth in Lombardy, with the influence of Leonardo’s works,…

Want books like Arcimboldo?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 92 books like Arcimboldo.

Browse books like Arcimboldo

Book cover of The Picture of Dorian Gray
Book cover of The Inferno
Book cover of The Isenheim Altarpiece: God's Medicine and the Painter's Vision

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,224

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Vienna, Prague, and Austria?

Vienna 61 books
Prague 34 books
Austria 61 books