Summer

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

1563 · Oil on limewood · Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Summer

Autumn

Four Seasons in One Head

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

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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 exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. 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 16×24 in natural wood. A sage, mustard or warm white wall; it pairs with Basket of Fruit.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Renaissance painting
Era: 16th century (1563)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: grand
Rooms: kitchen, dining room, living room, dorm room, hallway or entryway
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. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

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

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • 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 exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is Summer 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 Kunsthistorisches Museum.

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 Summer painted, and in what medium?

Summer dates from 1563 and was made in oil on limewood; the original measures 67 × 50.8 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 Summer we'd choose 16×24.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Giuseppe Arcimboldo's Summer — Summer — a profile head made of fruit and vegetables, a cucumber nose and a cherry-and-plum cheek, a wheat-straw collar — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Arcimboldo: The Composite Heads, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — 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 Exhibition Posters 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.

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