Guiseppe Archimboldo- Vertumnus
By Abigail Adramola
By Abigail Adramola
Guiseppe Archimboldo was an Italian renaissance painter who was best known for his imaginative portraiture made entirely from objects like fruits, vegetables, tree roots, sea creatures, and even kitchen utensils. He didn’t use these objects in his paintings simple because. The objects he chose to use in his paintings served a purpose. One of his more notable work is the Vertumnus, which was a portrait of the Roman Emperor Rudolf II, he painted the emperor as Vertumnus the Roman God of the seasons. The portrait is made entirely out of fruits from all seasons, like pears, apples, cherries, olives, corn, and chestnuts. The fact that the portrait was made of fruits and vegetables was used to symbolize the harmony and balance with nature that the emperor’s reign brought about. It was used to symbolize the golden age that existed under the rule of this emperor. The portrait matches a poem that Archimboldo wrote on the subject, which closely follows a peom by the Roman poet Propertius. Amazingly, the fruits and vegetables in the portrait appear in the exact order as mentioned Propertius’s poem. Archimboldo was in the employ of the emperor’s family for over 25 years. He painted this particular piece towards the end of his time with this family. I feel like this portrait is definitely more related to identity, than any of the other food concepts. I think this portrait represents not only a golden age for the realm at the time but also a golden age for Archimboldo, that the family, not necessarily Rudolf II, brought about. He had to leave Milan before, when there was an archbishop who went after artists that offended his sensibilities. He was later able to return and was hired by the Hapsburgs, the emperor’s family. Under their employ, he flourished, he enjoyed numerous favors and benefits and was able to paint as he wished. So, Vertumnus represents his golden era, the period of prosperity he experienced under the family’s employ.