NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART ACQUIRES RARE ARCIMBOLDO PAINTING

THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON DC, HAS ACQUIRED THE FOUR SEASONS IN ONE HEAD, A RARE AND IMPORTANT MASTERPIECE BY GIUSEPPE ARCIMBOLDO, ON THE OCCASION OF THE EXHIBITION 'ARCIMBOLDO, 1526-1593: NATURE AND FANTASY', ON VIEW IN THE EAST BUILDING, 19.SEPTEMBER THROUGH 9.JANUARY. THE ARTIST'S DELIGHTFULLY BIZARRE HEADS HAVE BEEN FREQUENTLY COPIED AND IMITATED. THE FOUR SEASONS IN ONE HEAD IS ONE OF FEWER THAN 20 EXAMPLES BY THE MASTER IN EXISTENCE. THE PURCHASE, WHICH WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE GALLERY'S PAUL MELLON FUND, MAKES THIS WORK THE ONLY UNDISPUTED PAINTING BY ARCIMBOLDO IN A PUBLIC COLLECTION IN THE UNITED STATES. THE PAINTING WAS PRESENTED PUBLICLY FOR TEH FIRST TIME IN THE 2007-08 ARCIMBOLDO RETROSPECTIVE HELD AT THE LOUVRE AND THE KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM, VIENNA. ARCIMBOLDO WAS FAMOUS FOR HIS COMPOSITE HEADS IN HIS OWN TIME AS COURT PAINTER TO THE HABSBURG EMPERORS MAXIMILIAN II AND RUDOLPH II IN VIENNA AND PRAGUE. LATER, AFTER HE WAS REDISCOVERED IN THE 1930s, THE HEADS INSPIRED THE SURREALISTS. PAINTED SINGLY OR IN A SERIES, THEY COMBINE PLANTS, ANIMALS AND OTHER OBJECTS APPROPRIATE TO THE THEMES ARCIMBOLDO TREATED, SUCH AS THE FOUR SEASONS AND THE FOUR ELEMENTS (EARTH, FIRE, AIR AND WATER). ARCIMBOLDO MADE THE FOUR SEASONS IN ONE HEAD FOR HIS FRIEND, THE WRITER GREGORIO COMPANINI, WHO FIRST DESCRIBES IT. THE PAINTING IS PRACTICALLY ALONE AMONG THE COMPOSITE HEADS IN THAT IT DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARTIST'S HABSBURG PATRONS AND, ACCORDINGLY, IT WAS NOT IN PRAGUE WHEN THE CITY WAS SACKED BY SWEDISH TROOPS IN 1648. INSTEAD, THE PAINTING IS MENTIONED IN THE 1656 INVENTORY OF THE FAMOUS CORTONI COLLECTION IN VERONA. AFTER THAT, THE PAINTING DISAPPEARED UNTIL THE 21st CENTURY WHEN IT RESURFACED IN AN ENGLISH COLLECTION. THE AGENT FOR SALE OF THE PAINTING IS PANDORA OLD MASTER, INC.