Arcimboldo was an odd
and whimsical artist to say the least, whom many considered mentally unstable.
He was a 16th-century Mannerist painter whose style combined High Renaissance
and Baroque elements. He completed some conventional religious works, but he is
better known for his portraits showing people made out of vegetables, plants,
fruits, sea creatures, tree roots, and in this painting, winemaking materials.
He was the master of the visual pun, and much of his work was meant to draw
attention to the unreasonable caprices of the wealthy of his era.
From
“Jabberwocky”
By Lewis Carroll
`Twas brillig, and
the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble
in the wabe:
All mimsy were the
borogoves,
And the mome raths
outgrabe.
"Beware the
Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite,
the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub
bird, and shun
The frumious
Bandersnatch!"
