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Phenomenom!Teaching Resource

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(The Arts; Yr 3&4, ACAVAM110) Explore ideas and artworks from different cultures and times, including artwork by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, to use as inspiration for their own representations

Veg HeadsYear 3 – The ArtsYear 4 – The Arts


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Veg HeadsPortraits in art – including vegetable heads!

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was a 16th century court artist from Northern Italy famous for painting his subjects’ features like they were a pile of fruits, vegetables and flowers. It might look weird to us, but historians think this style was meant to flatter his patrons. Giuseppe seemed to be suggesting they were such good governors that the crops would grow and nature would flourish under their rule.

Equipment:

You will need:

A computer, tablet or whiteboard to explore art sources

Art materials

Duration:

30 minutes, plus extra time if students are developing a project

Location:

The classroom

Notes:




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Watch The One with the Mandala

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● Show the class one or more of Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s ‘vegetable portraits’. (Some links are provided in Resources).

● The portrait to the right is ‘Summer’ which Arcimboldo painted in 1573.

● Study the image, looking at each vegetable and keeping an eye out for visual puns (what are his ears made of?)

● Discuss seasonality – all the vegetables in the portrait grow/are harvested in summer.

● If you have time, find his portraits for spring, autumn and winter.



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Profile Power

Ask the class if anyone knows what it means when we say a portrait is ‘in profile’.

Ask students to imagine if selfies were always shot in profile view this year (i.e it's a fashion).

● When Arcimboldo painted ‘Summer’ in 1573, the profile portrait was out of date… by about 100 years! (This portrait of the lady in the orange and gold dress was a very fashionable style in about 1490.)

Why do students think Arcimboldo was painting deliberately strange portraits in an old-fashioned style?

● Explain that Arcimboldo was painting for the Emperor Maximilian II (in Vienna). Emperor Maximilian II wanted to show off how long his royal family history was. He wanted people to believe it went back even as far as the Romans (1500 years)! (It didn’t, but he was big on positive PR.)

● One of the ways to do this is to have a fashionable artist paint you like you are a Roman god – because pictures are persuasive.

Can students think of any other instances where pictures have been used for political persuasion? (e.g. posters such as the famous Obama ‘HOPE’ series.)



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Resources

◊ Arcimboldo’s Feast for the Eyes – The Smithsonian Museum: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/arcimboldos-feast-for-the-eyes-74732989/

◊ Giuseppe Arcimboldo: The Complete Works: https://www.giuseppe-arcimboldo.org/

◊ Google Arts and Culture: Renaissance portraits: https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/usergallery/sQKiwniL206AIw

◊ Portraits of Women in Italian Renaissance Painting: http://www.artistsandart.org/2009/12/portraits-of-women-in-italian.html

Creating a response:● Year 3: Get students to work in pairs to trace

profiles of each other. From this ‘rough’ outline they can create a portrait of themselves using any of the styles explored in this lesson (Renaissance profile portrait or ‘Vegetable heads’!) OR

● Year 4: Provide art materials and research time for students to explore famous political images from the past (e.g. Che Guevara’s portrait; ‘Your Country Needs You’; Obama HOPE campaign; Picasso’s Guernica).

veg heads - phenomenom · giuseppe arcimboldo was a 16th century court artist from northern italy...

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