Arcimboldo: Nature and Fantasy (DVD)

The inventive and amusing paintings of Giuseppe Arcimboldo dazzled the courts of Europe. His imaginative combinations of fruits, vegetables, and fl owers create allegorical portraits of emperors and witty caricatures of their courtiers, which won him the highest artistic honors bestowed by the Holy Roman Empire. His works reveal the mind of an artist deeply infl uenced by the new discoveries and new worlds that came to light during the Age of Exploration. This documentary combines original highdefinition footage of the artist’s native Milan and the Habsburg palaces of Vienna and Prague with images of Arcimboldo’s work as a court painter, designer of festivals, and chronicler of the natural world.