Later Italian Renaissance Era Art

The Four Elements 

by Giuseppe Arcimboldo

The Four Elements, Fire and Water 1566

The Four Elements, Air and Earth 1566

History

Guiseppe Arcimboldo painted The Four Elements during the Italian Renaissance while he worked as a court painter for Maximus II, Holy Roman Emperor, at the Habsburg's court in Prague. The four oil on wood paintings, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, are crafted to depict humans and are comprised of natural elements and animals. Earth contains many different types of animals; livestock, woodland, and exotic; Air is arranged with an array of birds; Fire is formed with pyrotechnics objects and flames, and Water is swirling with aquatic life. These artwork pieces are a part of another series of four unique paintings also gifted to Maximus II, The Four Seasons, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring. The paintings were believed to be metaphoric family portraits of the honored Habsburg family, each season linked to its corresponding element depicting the chaos to balance the family endured. Sadly in 1684, when a Swedish army invaded Prague during the Thirty Years' War, many of Ruldoph II's paintings by Arcimboldo in his collection were stolen. In present-day, Guiseppe Arcimboldo's artwork is displayed in Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Habsburg Schloss Ambras in Innsbruck, the Louvre in Paris, and numerous museums in Sweden. 

The Four Elements was painted during the Later Years of the Renaissance in 1566 using Mannerism art techniques. Preceding the High Renaissance period, where artwork was based on realism, beauty, and precise proportions, Mannerism used those principles but exaggerated reality by showing off self-expression and skillful craft by using relationships between humans and nature. Humanistic art principles are used in Arcimboldo's The Four Elements paintings. Animals, vegetables, fruits, fish, and earth elements are woven together to form a shape resembling human faces, often exaggerating certain parts of the facial structure; the nose, cheeks, ears, and chin. He used components from parts of the objects to intensify and enhance hair, eyes, and clothing features. 

I am fascinated with Guiseppe Arcimboldo's artwork; it is interesting, weird, and beautiful. My favorite aspect is the back story behind his works; they are not simply objects used to resemble human faces but carefully picked and designed to take after the subject for who he crafts them. It would be interesting to see what elements he would choose to represent me if Arcimboldo used me as a model for one of his paintings. I like to walk to the beat of my drum; Arcimboldo created these pieces following an era of artists who crafted exquisite, realistic paintings. Inspired by the High Renaissance artists, he took their ideas and designed his artwork in a unique, eye-catching style, which draws me to his work.   

The Four Seasons, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring

Giovanni Battista Fonteo, a Milanese poet and friend of Guiseppe Arcimboldo, showed the connection between  The Four Seasons and The Four Elements artworks by writing a poem about them. 

"Summer is hot and dry as Fire. Winter is cold and damp as Water. Air and

Spring are both warm and damp, and Autumn and Earth are both cold and dry."

Earth

Color

Animals with neutral shades of browns, tans, greys, oranges, and whites represent the natural beauty and hues of Mother Earth. The browns are like the rich soils that carpet the floor, sprinkled with cool grey and rusty orange rock minerals. Snowy bright whites glisten and give a cold winter chill, and sandy tans of fine granules blanket the ground for as far the eye can see—a mighty black sky as a backdrop highlights the pallet of simple earth tones. 

 Texture

The Earth has a plethora of sensory textures depicted by the different essences of the animals in the painting. Walking barefoot on blades of grass tickles the bottom of my feet and pokes my ankles if overgrown, similar to rodents with short, coarse hair. The firm antlers from the horned creatures stand erect and drive up, branching out of the painting like tall, robust tree trunks sprouting branches to the top. Rippling glassy water that is smooth, shiny, and sometimes wrinkled is similar to the skin of animals with no hair. Long locks of soft curls are reminiscent of fat fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky that pile on the ground.  

Shape

A strong profile with rounded features and an emphasized broad, round nose encapsulates the circle shape of the Earth. The animals within the sphere come in all different sizes, large, tall, petite, and wide, reminding me of the continents covering Earth of many, unlike proportions. Rounded 

Air

Color

Because air is invisible and has no color, Giuseppe Arcimboldo had to depict what tones he believed he could interpret oxygen with. The pallet is primarily light, airy colors, shiny light golds, and whites, with black mixed in. Gold is a natural color found in nature, like a beautiful golden sunrise, to energize the start of the day. While white is a color of purity, air gives humans life and energy; pure, clean air is the sweetest and most pristine. Black is the absence of color, but it is still visible; like the air that cannot be seen, humans continue to breathe it and need it for survival. 

Texture

The use of birds made me think of the simile light as a feather; the air is virtually weightless but can be moved by flapping wings. A feather is hollow, easily lifted into the air like a soft, delicate dancer. All the birds are encircled and tightly packed together, expanding out like air that occupies space. The painting has a smooth glossy look; this is what I believe the atmosphere would look like if it could be seen. When the sunlight hits the air just right, the sparkling sun rays make it visible, giving it a lustrous shine.  

Shape 

The birds are placed in a wiry way, like the wind is blowing them out of place. With a prominent pointy chin, the profile of the human head is slim and not perfectly round. On the neckline, the peacock's feathers are shaped in a half circle, fanned out, giving the illusion of flowing air. The rooster and pheasant are put together and make a "v," resembling an open mouth that takes in a breath of air. 

Fire

Color 

Warm golden yellow tones illuminate the portrait; it is on fire. Rolling orange-yellow and creams ripple in a glaring sea of flames. Hazy white smoke coming off the blazing inferno swirls over a dark backdrop. When I look at the artwork, all the golden fireguard objects remind me of a bright lightbulb; if I turned out the lights, I would still be able to see the painting in the dark. This artwork would keep me warm on a cold winter night: fiery red embers burn in the dark, crackle, and pop. Dark brown logs are charred with patches of searing red coals.  

                                                                                                                     Texture

When I look at this artwork, I can smell a smokey campfire that swirls in your nose for hours. At the base, the objects are smoothly polished with a shiny appearance; they look like they would slip out of my hand if I picked one up. Beautiful patterns encircle glassy gems with delicate entangled designs. The array of candelabras is holding the rolling waves of the burning inferno. Embers in the logs crinkle, flickering like lightning bugs on a hot, muggy night. Above the embers, the flames are waving as they sway to and fro, as the thick satiny smoke lingers, slowly fading away. 

Shape

The painting contains sharp, precise shapes; ovals, spheres, cylinders, and squares. A cube of woven wick builds a strong squared forehead; the nose is angled like a right triangle with an ear shaped like an ulu. Beautiful tall fireguards create an elongated neck and square chin, and a long candlestick ignites the spiked flames in the hair. The cannons are perfect cylinders underweight, a beautiful squared brooch necklace with precious oval stones.

Water

Color 

A cool-toned marine color pallet gives me the illusion of an aquarium that smells like fish and salt water. The most bright pop of color is the hint of bright red coral sprouting from underneath an entangled group of dull grey-colored fish. Silvery grey aquatic life float in a sea of ombre grey seals and salmon-colored crustaceans. Cool oceanic tones are illuminated by a single oyster, a strand of pearls that shine with a white pearly luster. A rusty-colored crab moseyed over a bright red lobster, and a sea turtle with a brown shell dusted with red prepared to venture into the heart of the sea.    

Texture 

In the glassy, smooth sea lives a waterlogged King of the Sea. The slimy fish float and glide through calm, flowing waters. A manta ray smoothly shuffles across an angry shark with tough leathery skin. Bumpy turtle shells and corrugated sea shells bring texture to the flat ocean. A slippery eel coils his long rubbery body like a warm scarf to keep the King's neck warm; he is cold and wet this will warm him. Spiky fish fins and jagged coral build the King his crown.  

Shape
A bubbly round profile is built out of many different shapes of aquatic life and marine animals. The head of a seal makes a plump circular nose that makes the King breathe easier. A long oval-shaped shark, squid, and catfish build a wide bulbous mouth and chin. The tightly wrapped eel lengthens the thin neck the elegant pearl necklace encircles. 

Cited Sources

Renauld, Marie Madeleine. “Giuseppe Arcimboldo: Turning Fruit into Faces.” The Collector, 8 Nov. 2021, https://www.thecollector.com/giuseppe-acrimboldo-composite-plant-paintings/.

Renita, Shelley. “What Is Mannerism Art?” Art Facts, 19 Sept. 2022, https://art-facts.com/what-is-mannerism-art/.

Selvin, Claire. “How Giuseppe Arcimboldo Reimagined Portraiture in 16th-Century Europe.” ARTnews.com, ARTnews.com, 1 Oct. 2020, https://www.artnews.com/feature/giuseppe-arcimboldo-who-is-he-famous-works-1234572120/#!

“The Four Elements (Arcimboldo).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Aug. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Elements_(Arcimboldo)#:~:text=The%20Four%20Elements%20is%20a%20series%20of%20four,profile%20made%20up%20from%20different%20animals%20or%20objects.

“The Four Seasons (Arcimboldo).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Sept. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Seasons_(Arcimboldo).

The entire time I looked at Fire to analyze it, I thought of this ridiculous hat from the early 2000s!