Summer
1563 · Oil on limewood · Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
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About this work
- Artist
- Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527–1593)
- Year
- 1563
- Medium
- Oil on limewood
- Original size
- 67 × 50.8 cm
- Collection
- Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
- Movement
- Renaissance
- Series
- The Four Seasons (1563)
A head in profile facing right is built entirely from summer produce: cherries line the hair and form the upper lip, a peach makes the cheek, a cucumber the nose, a pea pod the teeth, an aubergine the ear, an ear of wheat the brow, while a garlic bulb, corn cob, plums, grapes and berries crown the head and an artichoke sprouts from the chest. The figure wears a coat of woven straw, into which Arcimboldo cleverly worked his signature and the date 1563. Arcimboldo had been court painter to the Habsburgs in Vienna since 1562, admired also as a designer of court festivals and tournaments, and the Seasons series he painted in 1563 founded his lasting fame. The heads were meant both to amuse and to flatter, presenting the abundance of nature as serving the imperial house; a poem by Giovanni Battista Fonteo set out their allegory. Of the original 1563 series only Summer and Winter survive, and both are in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A profile head made of cherries, peaches, corn, garlic and wheat in a straw coat against near-black, playful and rich, for a kitchen, dining room or family room at 18×24 in natural wood. A sage, mustard or warm white wall; it pairs with Basket of Fruit.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Renaissance painting
- Era
- 16th century (1563)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- kitchen, dining room, living room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 18×24. Prints at 12×16, 18×24, 24×32 in — 12×16 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 18×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×32 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or natural wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Summer in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Summer painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
