Sylvia Ferino – Pears as Tearducts, a Corncob for an Ear
11. June 2008, 13:58:38 unter: Audio, Austria, Exhibitions, German, Interviews, Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Museums, Podcasts, ViennaA good five centuries ago, a navigator called Vespucci had gained the respect of a cartographer called Waldseemüller, who decided to christen the Mundus Novus as the continent of America. The interest in Europe in imported goods from the New World had grown significantly in this time. With economic expansion, the Old World had also opened up a new area of knowledge, which was meant to be conquered scientifically.
Sylvia Ferino – Pears as Tearducts, a Corncob for an Ear. Part 1
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Sylvia Ferino – Pears as Tearducts, a Corncob for an Ear. Part 2
| send feedback Against the backdrop of this newly developing landscape of knowledge in the sixteenth century, the Milanese painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo began making portraits of human faces arranged from seafood, fruits, and vegetables in the court of the Habsburg king, Maximillian II. Of course, this kind of metamorphosis of the human face had already been mesmerizing people at the time and could have been considered a sensational visual gimmick on the part of Arcimbaldo, according to Dr. Sylvia Ferino, the curator at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. However, at the same time, Arcimboldo’s pictures were a sign of the awakening of the natural sciences and the humanistic reflection of the European self in the mirror of the new world.
After Arcimboldo was summoned to Vienna by Emperor Ferdinand I as a copy artist and portraitist, his duties were extended under the emperor’s son, Maximillian II, and grandson, Rudolf II. Arcimboldo then documented flora and fauna for the artistically- and scientifically-interested royal family. Elements of this activity found their way into his composite head figures, which also served as subjects of opinion and study for the scholarly writings of the scientists of its time. In addition, Arcimboldo invented hydraulic machines, sketched bridges, developed synaesthetic theories, and acted as the royal court artist due to his universal skills. On top of that, he was held in high regard by his employers for the imperial celebrations that he hosted. He was also well respected by fellow intellectuals such as Ulisse Aldrovandi, the founder of the modern zoology.
Dr. Sylvia Ferino, with whom we spoke about the connection of Arcimboldo’s work to the social background of his time, has been honored several times for her work with the icons of Italian Renaissance painting. Along with many other projects, she curated the Arcimboldo exhibition, which was shown at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris, and at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. (wh/jn)
