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    Open today 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    Ice Rink at the Sculpture Garden

    Step into a winter wonderland.

    Learn more

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    Featured exhibition:

    The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art

    Now on view

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Games and Interactives
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

    Today's puzzle

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  • Shop
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  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
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    Open today 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    Ice Rink at the Sculpture Garden

    Step into a winter wonderland.

    Learn more

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    Featured exhibition:

    The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art

    Now on view

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Games and Interactives
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

    Today's puzzle

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    1. Home
    2. Artists
    3. Giuseppe Arcimboldo

    Giuseppe Arcimboldo

    Italian, 1526 - 1593

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    Artwork

    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 grow up from the top of the head like antlers or a tall crown. On our left, green and purple grapes sit among the branches and stumps on the head while red apples and pears sit on our right. Ivy grows up on branch behind the apples. Two red cherries dangle from the small stub of the ear we can see. Pale pink, red, and white flowers on the chest make a garment. Sheaves of wheat hang down from branches protruding from the neck over the flowers. The artist signed the painting with black letters where bark has peeled away from a branch to our upper right, "ARCIMBOLDUS F."
    Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Four Seasons in One Head, c. 1590, oil on panel, Paul Mellon Fund, 2010.77.1

    Four Seasons in One Head

    Four Seasons in One Head

    Giuseppe Arcimboldo · c. 1590 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  2010.77.1

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