All language subtitles for Arcimboldo.Portrait.of.an.Audacious.Man.2022.1080p.WEB.h264-BAWD_track3_[eng]

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Giuseppe Arcimboldo only produced
about 30 paintings in his career.

And yet, he left his mark
on the collective imagination.

Some find him anecdotal,

others repulsive, or simply amusing.

But behind this apparent frivolity

hides a profound, subtle,
and melancholic artist.

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Man Ray, Dali, Marcel Duchamp,

Max Ernst, Andre Breton.

In the 1920's,
all these surrealist artists

discovered the work
of Giuseppe Arcimboldo.

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To understand why artists regularly,

and sometimes obsessively,

perpetuate the work of Arcimboldo...

..we need to return
to the source of his story,

which began in Lombardy.

In the middle of the 16th Century,
Milan was in full artistic growth,

and was one of the
richest cities in the world.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was born
in the spring of 1526

into an esteemed family of artists.

The city was renowned for the number

of artists' workshops
it was home to,

and for the skill of its artisans

who fulfilled the extensive
demands of the church.

His artistic training took place
under the watchful eye

of his father, Biagio,

himself an established painter.

The studio in which
they worked together

participated in the great artistic
projects of the city,

and in particular,
the building of the Duomo,

Milan's cathedral,

considered the most
ambitious construction in Europe.

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At the age of 23,

Giuseppe Arcimboldo already held
the title of Magister, Master.

He excelled at drawing,

at assembling stain glass
with lead strips,

and at the diversity
of his artistic talents,

creating wall hangings

and painting frescos
on a daily basis,

alongside his father.

Half a century earlier,

Leonardo da Vinci had spent
a large part of his career

in the Lombardic capital,
in the service of the Duke of Milan.

Just like him,
the young Arcimboldo

pictured a career
as an eclectic artist.

He concentrated on
perfecting his talents,

observing nature, and studying
the evolving sciences of the time.

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Based upon his
observations of nature,

Leonardo da Vinci
exaggerated facial expressions

and created physionomies
which didn't exist in reality.

These drawings opened the door
to a new form of creativeness.

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Arcimboldo was also to find
this sort of fantasy

in an artistic movement
which had just appeared.

Fifty years after the death
of Leonardo da Vinci,

artists of the second half
of the 16th Century

were deeply marked by the quantity
and greatness of the work

of precious great Masters.

How was one to follow Raphael,

Michelangelo, Titian or Da Vinci?

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Placing itself voluntarily

outside the norms
of classical representation,

a new generation of artists
let its imagination run wild.

Laying down the principals of a new
pictorial style, mannerism.

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Instilled with
a great sense of freedom,

mannerism stretched
and twisted the body

to modify proportions
and express movement.

But this audacious trend

of which Arcimboldo was later to
become one of the great proponents,

was considered by some,
however, to be profane.

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In 1562, just when the atmosphere
was changing drastically in Milan,

Arcimboldo left Italy.

Maximilian II
of the House of Habsburg

had called him
to the court of Vienna.

At the age of 36,

he entered the very heart
of the capital

of the Germanic holy Roman Empire,

the symbol of cultural Europe,

open and cosmopolitan.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo
was ready to offer is talents

in service of the Habsburg Emperors

where he would at last
be able to express himself

in a way which was less subjected
to the demands of the church.

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(FIREWORKS BANG, SCREECH)

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Within just one year
of arriving in Vienna,

the settings and costumes
of Arcimboldo

delighted princes
and courtiers alike.

Strengthened by this success,

the painter wanted to show
King Maximilian

the extent of his inventions.

In 1563, he presented
a series of paintings

on which he had secretly
been working for several years,

The Four Seasons.

But how was he to present
this iconoclastic work?

Arcimboldo was in danger of losing

the honours and esteem
of the Sovereign

if the composite portraits
were not well received.

He decided to accompany his efforts

with poems written by his friend,
Giovanni Battista Fonteo.

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Blueberries, artichokes, and marrows
combine and intertwine

to compose anthropomorphic figure.

The colours are bright,
the flowers abundant,.

From these composed heads,

spring forth a hitherto unknown
pictural style.

At court, this new style of images

overturned aesthetic conventions

by virtue of their
striking modernity.

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(LIGHT INDISTINCT CHATTER)

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(JAUNTY MUSIC)

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(BIRDS CHIRP)

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By composing from the infinite
repertoire of nature's forms

Arcimboldo created
a new visual language

to the point of associating
shapes with feelings.

But where did this passion
for natural architecture

and the keenness of
his observations come from?

These apparently playful portraits

also reveal a more serious game

related to the great discoveries
of his time, in which he was to play

a central role in the service
of a new Sovereign.

In 1572, Giuseppe Arcimboldo

joined Rudolf II,
son of Maximilian II,

when the court of Vienna
moved to Prague.

This Emperor,
with his eccentric character,

wanted to turn Prague
into the European capital

of arts and sciences.

At the time, which was strongly
marked by technological innovations,

and the discovery of the New World,

he surrounded himself with eminent
researchers and scholars.

Rudolf invited naturalists,

numerologists, biologists,

astronomers, and other savants
to his court.

Passionate about occult sciences,
and an art lover,

the Emperor,
with the help of Arcimboldo,

who had become
his artistic consultant,

put together
a cabinet of curiosities

intended to bear witness
to his wealth and power.

In this private room
within the Emperor's castle,

was depicted all the
wonder and surprise

that the universe
and nature had to offer.

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(BIRDS CHIRP)

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(BIRDS CHIRP, CALL)

With privileged access to these
extraordinary animals and plants,

which he scientifically
drew and studied,

Arcimboldo improved
and expanded his art.

Armed with these
naturalist illustrations,

he composed four new
allegorical portraits,

this time based on
the theme of the elements.

They were intended to complement
The Four Seasons series,

and to decorate
the Imperial Kunstkammer.

To accompany the presentation
of this new series,

the poet, Fonteo, declared:

"The summer is warm
and dry like fire.

The winter is cold
and humid like water.

The air and the spring
are both warm and humid.

And the autumn and the earth
are both cold and dry."

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(GROWLING, THUDDING)

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In the winter of 1587,

after 25 years spent
at the Imperial court,

Arcimboldo returned to Milan.

In addition to his pension,

Rudolf dubbed him a Count palatine,

one of the most prestigious
honourific titles of the period.

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In his last self portrait,

he depicted himself
as mature and scholarly,

with his hair and beard
composed of paper.

On his forehead
can be seen his age, 61.

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Arcimboldo first sent the Emperor

a spring-like variation on the theme
of the goddess of flowers.

His portraits express
all the refinement of his work

as a colourist
in these feminine faces

touched by melancholy.

He then sent a more sombre portrait

called Four Seasons In One Head.

He amusingly placed his signature
in the bark of a branch.

He finally gave Rudolf II

a portrait in which he displayed
particular creative ingenuity.

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# CLAUDIO CAVINA: Madrigals #

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