Giuseppe Arcimboldo  [1530-1593] Italian painter
Guiseppe Arcimboldo (Italian, 1530-1593) began his career designing stained glass windows for Milan Cathedral, then moved to Prague, where he become court painter to the emperors Ferdinand II and Rudolf II. He is best known for his imaginative symbolic paintings composed of flowers, fruits, animals landscapes, or implements arranged in human form.  Executed in a style known as "grotesque" (copied from ornamentation on Roman buildings, called grotte), in which natural forms were disintegrated and fancifully recombined, Arcimboldo's paintings were widely imitated.  Nevertheless, they were considered no more than bizarre curiosities -- even in poor taste -- until the Surrealist movement brought about a renewed interest in "visual punning."  Surrealist master Salvador Dali is said to have been inspired by Arcimboldo's work. (from the Arcimboldo Calendar)
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