Giuseppe Arcimboldo was an Italian painter born in 1527 who began his art career working with stained glass. He is most known for his not-so-standard portraits, in which the faces are made up of things like fish, vegetables (The Vegetable Gardener), and flowers. The objects used actually held meaning in his time; objects represented things like harmony or were religious references or jokes. He dealt a lot with seasons and the elements (Air). It is believed that many of his paintings have been lost over time. Arcimboldo was a prominent social figure in organizing parties and designing costumes. He was also funded greatly by the government and many poets wrote about his work. After spending most of his life living and working in Vienna and Prague, he died on July 11, 1593, in his home of Milan.
