Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s Grilli: Humor and Magic in Genre Portraits

This essay examines one aspect of Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s portraiture: His genre depictions where he expands the art of illusionism or magic visualization into grilli (intellectual whims) and teste composte (composite heads). These images of reversible portraits of genre scenes, caricatural conceits, and visual puns are seen in The Cook or The Chef reversed as The Bowl of Meats of 1570 at the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm; The Vegetable Gardener reversed as The Bowl of Vegetables of 1590 at the Museo Civico “Ala Ponzone”, Cremona; and Il Frutaio, The Fruit Vendor reversed as The Basket of Fruits of 1591, at the French & Company Gallery in New York. In his imagery, Arcimboldo focuses on the paradoxical meaning of objects, “what if?” adding a sense of ambiguity and mystery to his art. Is Arcimboldo teasing the viewer with a Mannerist flare, or is he composing or implying another type of intellectual conceit? Ultimately, Arcimboldo invents a new type of genre: the emblematic humorous portrait.