“The Graz Arcimboldo"

In 1872 Emperor Franz Joseph gave the Landesgalerie in Graz a painting by Giuseppe Arcimboldo that had long belonged to the imperial collections. This worked then passed into the collections of the Joanneum, where it remained until 1954, when it was exchanged with a Viennese art dealer for another painting. It was then lent to the Princely Collections of Liechtenstein, frequently exhibited and published, and in 2015 finally acquired by Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein.

This lecture considers the fate of the “Graz Arcimboldo” as illustrating the reception of the artist’s work. Arcimboldo was much appreciated by Emperor Maximilian II, for whom it was made, and Emperor Rudolf II, to whom it belonged. This painting (and a version of it) was discussed by several contemporary writers. But Arcimboldo’s reputation went into eclipse until he was rediscovered first by artists and then by art historians in the later twentieth century, and its identity, subject, and meaning were long lost or misunderstood. This work may now be related to natural history, Habsburg propaganda, and Renaissance ideas about art, science and magic. These issues will be discussed, along with a few questions that still remain.