In this vertical painting, a tree trunk, branches, plants, fruit, and flowers are arranged to create the head, neck, and chest of an old person, like a portrait. The face and shoulders are angled to our left against a black background. The ash-brown tree trunk is the head with stumps to represent the long, bulbous nose, protruding chin, and ear. The eyes and mouth are sunken in deep shadow. Smaller bumps and the rough texture of the bark of the skin resembles warts or other imperfections. Flax-yellow moss or fungi grows on the chin and head, creating the impression of short hair. Branches…
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Four Seasons in One Head

painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo (Italian, 1526 - 1593)

c. 1590

Medium
oil on panel
Classification
Painting
Dimensions
overall: 60.4 × 44.7 cm (23 3/4 × 17 5/8 in.) ; framed: 90.49 × 71.76 × 11.43 cm (35 5/8 × 28 1/4 × 4 1/2 in.)
Culture
Italian
Museum
National Gallery of Art, CIS-R
Credit line
Paul Mellon Fund
Rights
Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

View at the National Gallery of Art