Guiseppe Arcimboldo: The four elements - Fire (1566)

(Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria)

A painting by the Italian artist Guiseppe Arcimboldo (1527-1593). This painting form part of a set dedicated to the four alchemical elements: Earth, Water, Air and Fire. The set was commissioned by Holy Roman emperor Maximilian II of Habsburg (reign 1564 – 1576). As typical of Arcimboldo - the element of fire is represented by a fictional portrait of a person who is formed from inanimate objects: his nose and ear are of flint and steel, his hair is formed by burning wood, his body is formed by cannons, a pistol, a burning candle etc. The man is also wearing a large necklace with a golden fleece - this refers to The Roman Catholic Order of the Golden Fleece, a very prestigious chivalric order in Europe. Hanging next to the golden fleece is a green gunpowder can with a double headed eagle - this eagle is the symbol of the Holy Roman Empire. Painting from 1566.