Arcimboldo - Statue - Vertumnus Portrait (1591)

Here Emperor Rudolph II is portrayed as Vertumnus, the Roman god of autumn, whose main task is to guard the orchards and to grant an abundance of fruit. Thus it is a tribute to the wise rulings of the Emperor who enables his subjects to harvest the rich fruit of the fields in peace. Arcimboldo painted this portrait towards the end of his life in Milan. He had been allowed to return there but only on the condition that he continued to work for the Emperor.

Art becomes reality with these statues: These somewhat bizarre fantasy representations of the human head look like comic book style constructions of good heroes and evil demons. They are amusing as a montage of vegetation, sea life, and book pages seeming overtaking the poor science fiction type person inside. They have a sort of monster style or sci-fi edge to them which any collector of the unusual and surreal would find amusing. What would they say if they could come alive? More details on Arcimboldo - Statue - Vertumnus Portrait (1591):