Food Fight

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was one of the stranger artists, especially considering the fact that he painted in the 15^th century. He didn’t start out as a strange painter though; his early years were taken up by painting exquisite portraits for French parliament members and two kings, Ferdinand I and Maximilian II. Arcimbaldo also painted frescoes with fellow artist Giuseppe Meda. He was commissioned to paint The Stories of St. Catherine of Alexandria, which still hangs in the Como Cathedral today.

Arcimbaldo at his best can be seen in his later works of portraits painted using fruit. This is where the “strangeness” comes in. In the 15^th century, people were very much drawn to romantic and realistic paintings. Arcimbaldo probably received a few negative comments for his wild art but it didn’t stop him from creating. There isn’t a way to distinguish his most famous works; they all are very prestigious.

His paintings are well known today. Most of his fruit portraits were rediscovered in the early 20^th century by surrealists like Salvador Dali and Octavio Ocampo who have based their own works off of Arcimbaldo. It is also rumored that the progressive rock band, Kansas, used his painting named Masque as one of their album covers. 

    

(Vertemnus)

(Self Portrait)