Water

Two paintings from the “Four Elements” series can be found in the KHM. They can be interpreted in the context of Arcimboldo’s cycle of the seasons, created previously: “Winter” (Inv.No. 1590) corresponds to “Water” while “Summer” (Inv.No. 1589) relates to “Fire” (Inv.No. 1585), “Spring” to “Air” and “Autumn” to “Earth”. The small crown here is probably a hidden reference to the Emperor and hence to the person who commissioned the painting.

Location: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Kabinett 8

Object data

Object Name

Painting

Culture

Italian, Lombard

Dated

1566

Artist

Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527 - 1593 Mailand) - GND

Material

alder wood

Dimensions

66,5 cm x 50,5 cm
Framed: 79,5 x 63 x 6,5 cm

Inscribed

auf der Rückseite: AQUA

Image rights

Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Gemäldegalerie

Inv. No.

Gemäldegalerie, 1586

Provenance

painted for Emperor Maximilian (?); from the art chamber of Rudolf II; 1748 in the Vienna Imperial treasury; from 1830 in the Picture Gallery

Permalink (citable Link) to this page: www.khm.at/en/object/74/

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