throughmirrorA different way of seeing
Summer — The Four Seasons — Ripe produce forms a warm-weather portrait.
Look closely. Let the image settle.
Illusions in painting / 1573

Summer — The Four Seasons

Ripe produce forms a warm-weather portrait.

TRY THIS

Switch between the whole profile and its individual ingredients. Compare the other three seasons.

FOLLOW THE SOURCES

History, evidence & image credit

THE IMAGE IN THIS ARCHIVE

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Original file & attribution · Public domain

This locally stored image is a Wikimedia Commons rendition (resized or rendered from the source file). The full original is linked from the source record. Gallery previews may be resized or converted to WebP; animated previews show the first frame.

Download image

Frequently asked questions

What is Summer — The Four Seasons?

Ripe produce forms a warm-weather portrait.

What should I look for in Summer — The Four Seasons?

Switch between the whole profile and its individual ingredients. Compare the other three seasons.

What explains Summer — The Four Seasons?

Fruits, vegetables, and grain have a second role as facial features and clothing. This is a composite portrait: the overall face emerges from an arrangement of separate things.

Another way to see it

Explore this category
The Ambassadors — A double portrait with a skull that emerges from an oblique view.

The Ambassadors

Hans Holbein the Younger

A double portrait with a skull that emerges from an oblique view.

Vertumnus — Rudolf II appears as a face assembled from fruit, flowers, and vegetables.

Vertumnus

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Rudolf II appears as a face assembled from fruit, flowers, and vegetables.

Summer — The Four Seasons — Ripe produce forms a warm-weather portrait.

Summer — The Four Seasons