About
Italian Renaissance-era painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made entirely of objects such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish, and books. He is well known for his series The Four Seasons and The Four Elements.
Before Fame
Like his father, he began his career as a designer for stained glass and frescoes at local cathedrals when he was 21.
Trivia
His work, especially his multiple images and visual puns, were rediscovered in the early 20th century by Surrealist artists such as Salvador Dalí.
Family Life
He was born in Milan. His father Biagio Arcimboldo was an artist of Milan.
Associated With
In 1562, he became court portraitist to Ferdinand I at the Habsburg court in Vienna, Austria and later, to Maximilian II and his son Rudolf II at the court in Prague. His contemporaries included Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vincii, and Raphael.
