Early works in Milan
by Giuseppe ARCIMBOLDO

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was the son of the painter Biagio Arcimboldo. He probably had learnt the rudiments of the craft in the workshop of his father, before moving on, in the early 1540s, to an apprenticeship with a master from outside the family. Probably his earliest work, executed together with his father, was the fresco decoration on the side walls of the chapel dedicated to St John the Baptist in the church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore in Milan.

At the age of twenty he was engaged as a designer of stained-glass windows and as a painter of various decorations in the Milan Cathedral. These works were carried out between 1549 and 1558. Another artistic undertaking in this period was the design of tapestries.

Arcimboldo left his homeland in 1562 and went to the court of Emperor Maximilian II.

Preview Picture Data Info
Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist
1545
Fresco
San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, Milan


Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist
1545
Fresco
San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, Milan


Scenes from the Old Testament
1549
Stained glass window
Cathedral, Milan


Scenes from the Life of St Catherine of Alexandria
1549
Stained glass window
Cathedral, Milan


Scenes from the Old Testament (detail)
1549
Stained glass window
Cathedral, Milan


Dormition of the Virgin
1558
Tapestry, wool and silk, 423 x 470 cm
Como, Cathedral



Summary of works by Arcimboldo
Paintings
Early works in Milan
Portraits for the Holy Roman Emperor
Allegories of the Seasons and the Elements
Composite and reversible heads
Graphics
Nature studies
Costumes and drawings for court festivities
Treatise on silk culture and manufacture
Various drawings



© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.