Four Seasons in One Head

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

c. 1590 · Oil on panel · National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Four Seasons in One Head

Autumn

Spring

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

Choose different prints →

Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

Secure checkout via Stripe

About this work

Artist: Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527–1593)
Year: c. 1590
Medium: Oil on panel
Original size: 60.4 × 44.7 cm
Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Movement: Renaissance

A head in profile is formed from a dead, gnarled tree stump with peeling bark and a broken branch for the nose, crowned with grapes, apples, ivy and cherries, and wrapped at the base in a straw mat stuck with roses and wheat, so that winter, summer, spring and autumn all appear in one figure. Arcimboldo signed it ARCIMBOLDUS F on a branch at the upper right. He painted it late in life, in about 1590, after returning to Milan, for his friend the writer Gregorio Comanini, who described it in his treatise on painting, Il Figino, published in 1591; it is sometimes taken as a reflective self-portrait of the ageing artist. Recorded in Verona in 1656, the panel was then lost to sight until 2006, when it was rediscovered in a private collection in England, where it had been since the early twentieth century. The National Gallery of Art in Washington acquired it in 2010 and showed it in its Arcimboldo exhibition that year.

This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

A gnarled tree-stump head crowned with grapes and red apples, wrapped in straw and roses against dark brown, for a study, kitchen or hallway at 16×24 in black. A sage, warm grey or deep green wall; it pairs with The Seasons.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Renaissance painting
Era: 16th century (c. 1590)
Orientation: Portrait
Mood: grand
Rooms: kitchen, hallway or entryway, study or library, living room, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original painting — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The image fills the print at the painting's own proportions; nothing is trimmed to fit a frame.

Is Four Seasons in One Head in the public domain?

Yes. Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527–1593) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by National Gallery of Art.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Four Seasons in One Head painted, and in what medium?

Four Seasons in One Head dates from c. 1590 and was made in oil on panel; the original measures 60.4 × 44.7 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Four Seasons in One Head we'd choose 16×24.

About this design

Four Seasons in One Head (Giuseppe Arcimboldo) — Four Seasons in One Head · Giuseppe Arcimboldo · c. 1590. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.

Also available as