Summer Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526-1593)

Description of the painting "Summer" by Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Created in 1573 Materials: canvas, oil. Dimensions: 76 by 63.5 cm. Exhibited at the Louvre, Paris, France. Another similar canvas, but painted ten years earlier, is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

The artist was called a classic only in the 20th century, when his distinctive work was rediscovered. It is memorable for its unique allegorical works, in which people are depicted with the help of completely different things, from birds or seashells to books and tongues of flame. What is unique is that no one had done this before Arcimboldo in the 16th century; he is even considered the forefather of Surrealism.

This work symbolizes summer from the cycle The Seasons, which consists of four stylistically similar anthropomorphic portraits. In a complex and over-saturated composition they convey to the viewer the very essence of each season. This one in the author’s vision appears as a mature woman with an attractive figure and a mysterious smile, visible even in an open pea pod. She is dressed in a straw blouse decorated along the collar and sleeves with ears of ripe wheat; if you look closely you can make out the year of painting and the painter’s name on them.

Instead of tender woman’s cheeks, soft pink peach is depicted, lips - sweet raspberry cherries and grapes, nose - green cucumber, dark cherry - eye, spike - eyebrow... The face is collected like the most unusual mosaic, but even more contains a high hairdo. The corn cob, eggplant, poured plums and sweet pears, more cherries and vines, large blackberries, etc., are well discernible in it. All together conveys the allegory of growth and the harvest of a rich crop, which matures for three months and begins to be harvested at the end of August.

Warm and saturated hues appropriate to the summer time dominate the canvas, making the woman’s profile shine in the midst of the black fill. Each fruit is drawn with great care and realism, the faithfully placed shadows and highlights create a strong volume effect of the image, enhanced by the contrast with the dark background.