Vertumnus
Where to see it
Palace of Versailles, Versailles
About the painting
Vertumnus is an oil painting produced by the Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo in 1591 that consists of multiple fruits, vegetables and flowers that come together to create a portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. Although Arcimboldo's colleagues commented that Vertumnus was scherzo, or humorous, there were intentional political meanings behind the piece, particularly regarding the choice of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Arcimboldo's choice to include these items was also an intentional reference to the Roman god, Vertumnus.
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Vertumnus was presented to Rudolf II after its completion. It was seized by the Swedish army after the Thirty Years' War. Although art historians lost track of Vertumnus after this shift, it reappeared in 1845 in Sweden in Skokloster Castle, where it remains.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Similar works
Image: Giuseppe Arcimboldo; Wikimedia Commons · public domain