Friday, May 17, 2013

"Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines"

Traian Vuia
      "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes" is a 1965 British comedy film starring Stuart Whitman, Sarah Miles and James Fox, directed and co-written by Ken Annakin.
      Based on a screenplay titled Flying Crazy, the fictional account is set in 1910, when Lord Rawnsley, an English press magnate, offers £10,000 to the winner of the Daily Post air race from London to Paris, to prove that Britain is "number one in the air".
      In 1910, just a few years after the first heavier-than-air flight, aircraft are fragile and unreliable contraptions, piloted by "intrepid birdmen". Ardent suffragette Patricia Rawnsley (Sarah Miles), the daughter of Lord Rawnsley (Robert Morley), a newspaper magnate, strives to become an aviatrix. Aviator Richard Mays (James Fox), a young Army officer, and (at least in his own eyes) Patricia's fiance, conceives the idea of an air race from London to Paris, to advance the cause of aviation (and his career), and persuades Lord Rawnsley to sponsor the race.
      Rawnsley complains: "The trouble with these international affairs is they attract a lot of foreigners." Most of the contestants live up to national stereotypes, including the by-the-book, monocle-wearing Prussian officer (Gert Fröbe), impetuous Count Emilio Ponticelli (Alberto Sordi) whose test flights wreck one aircraft after another and amorous Frenchman Pierre Dubois (Jean-Pierre Cassel). In a recurring gag (suggested by Zanuck), Irina Demick plays a series of flirts: first, Brigitte (French), Marlene (German), Ingrid (Swedish), Françoise (Belgian), Yvette (Bulgarian), and Betty (British), pursued by the French pilot. Yujiro Ishihara is the late-arriving Japanese naval officer Yamamoto, whose perfect Etonian accent makes him sound more British than the British.
      Echoing the rivalries between their respective nations, the contestants are pitted in an aerial competition that deteriorates into a ridiculous balloon duel between the German and French teams, and the nefarious actions of baronet Sir Percy Ware-Armitage (Terry-Thomas), an unscrupulous rogue who "never leaves anything to chance." With his bullied servant Courtney (Eric Sykes), he sabotages other aircraft or drugs their pilots, and cheats by shipping his aeroplane across the channel by boat. More complications occur when the rugged American cowboy Orvil Newton (Stuart Whitman) falls for Patricia, forming a love triangle with her and Mays.
      Fourteen competitors set out, but, one by one, they drop out or (like Ware-Armitage) crash, until only a few land in Paris. Newton loses his chance to win when he pauses to rescue Ponticelli from his burning aircraft. Mays wins for Britain, but insists on a tie with Newton and shares the prize with the now-penniless American. Orvil's and Patricia's final kiss is interrupted by a strange noise. Those at the flying field look up to see a flypast by six English Electric Lightning jet fighters overhead as the time period reverts to the "present" (1965). Read more . . .

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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Pattern for Stamp box in Pyrography

This little shamrock pattern appeared in "The St. Paul Globe, Sunday, April 17, 1904.

A newspaper clipping of an early pattern for pyrography in 1904.
"Can you suggest a pretty birthday gift, one that I can make myself, for a friend whose anniversary occurs in the month of March?" writes a girl reader.

      In answer she will find the picture of a charming little pyrographed case for postage stamps or other uses--and the pattern, exact size, to be followed in making it.
      A box of the proper size can be secured anywhere where pyrographic supplies, etc., are on sale.
      Transfer the pattern given to the lid of the box, and scorch it in with delicate lines.
      The first step is to tint your box all over, using water colors.
      Commence by washing the wood with a very thin wash of burnt sienna.
      On this, before it is perfectly dry, let fall drops of very liquid pale green.
      Now, put it aside to dry, leaving it to chance to work out a good effect by the mingling of these two colors. 
      When perfectly dry put in the foliage which decorates the corners with a warm green.
      A rich pink is used for the little roses in the corners and for the petals of the eglantine, which forms the center of the the design. It is now complete, save for a light coat of varnish.

The original shamrock and roses pattern, 1904, for pyrography projects for those of you who would like to reproduce it.

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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Tangram Stencil

       One of the oldest and most fascinating puzzles comes, like so many quaint things, from the Far East where, over four thousand years ago, a learned Chinese man named, Tan, made the invention which forty centuries have been unable to improve or alter. Worthy of a civilization that invented Chess, Tan's puzzle has lived on unchanged through the ages, affording amusement and thought to men of such ability as Napoleon, who during his exile on St. Helena, used to spend hour after hour with the little black geometric figures.
        Print cut and trace around the Tangram pattern below using sharp scissors and black craft paper. Now you will be ready to assemble the Tangram figures below.
Tangrams, a recreation that appears to be at least four thousand years old, has apparently never been dormant,
 and has not been altered or "improved upon" since the original was first cut out the seven pieces shown above
 in diagram 1. If you mark the point B, midway between A. and C., on one side of a square of any size,
 and D, midway between C. and E., on an adjoining side, the direction of the cuts is too obvious to need
 further explanation.
       All these seven pieces must be fitted against each other, never overlapping, in order to make the figures of men, beasts, houses, or the like.
Where does the second man get his foot from?

The cocked hat puzzle with answer on the right.

Lady holding her skirts high puzzle and answer.

The representation of a depressed cat puzzle and it's answer.

The gentleman tired of life puzzle and it's answer.
Tan presenting a puzzle to his wife, answer just right.
Chinese tea set made from Tangrams
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Saturday, May 11, 2013

What Are Tangrams?

The 'Tangram Story'

      The tangram (Chinese: 七巧板; pinyin: qī qiǎo bǎn; literally "seven boards of skill") is a dissection puzzle. consistes of seven flat shapes, called tans, which are put together to form shapes. The objective of the puzzle is to form a specific shape (given only an outline or silhouette) using all seven pieces, which may not overlap. It was originally invented in China at some unknown point in history, and then carried over to Europe by trading ships in the early 19th century. It became very popular in Europe for a time then, and then again during World War I. It is one of the most popular dissection puzzles in the world.
      The tangram had already been around in China for a long time when it was first brought to America by Captain M. Donnaldson, on his ship, Trader, in 1815. When it docked in Canton, the captain was given a pair of Sang-hsia-k'o's Tangram books from 1815.They were then brought with the ship to Philadelphia, where it docked in February 1816. The first Tangram book to be published in America was based on the pair brought by Donnaldson.
      The puzzle was originally popularized by The Eighth Book Of Tan, a fictitious history of Tangram, which claimed that the game was invented 4,000 years prior by a god named Tan. The book included 700 shapes, some of which are impossible to solve.
      The puzzle eventually reached England, where it became very fashionable indeed. The craze quickly spread to other European countries. This was mostly due to a pair of British Tangram books, The Fashionable Chinese Puzzle, and the accompanying solution book, Key.Soon, tangram sets were being exported in great number from China, made of various materials, from glass, to wood, to tortoise shell.
      Many of these unusual and exquisite tangram sets made their way to Denmark. Danish interest in tangrams skyrocketed around 1818, when two books on the puzzle were published, to much enthusiasm. The first of these was Mandarinen (About the Chinese Game). This was written by a student at Copenhagen University, which was a non-fictional work about the history and popularity of tangrams. The second, Det nye chinesiske Gaadespil (The new Chinese Puzzle Game), consisted of 339 puzzles copied from The 8th Book of Tan, as well as one original.
      One contributing factor in the popularity of the game in Europe was that although the Catholic Church forbade many forms of recreation on the sabbath, they made no objection to puzzle games such as the tangram.
      Tangrams were first introduced to the German public by industrialist Friedrich Adolf Richter around 1891. The sets were made out of stone or false earthenware, and marketed under the name "The Anchor Puzzle".
      More internationally, the First World War saw a great resurgence of interest in Tangrams, on the homefront and trenches of both sides. During this time, it occasionally went under the name of "The Sphinx", an alternate title for the "Anchor Puzzle" sets.
      The number is finite, however. Fu Traing Wang and Chuan-Chin Hsiung proved in 1942 that there are only thirteen convex tangram configurations (configurations such that a line segment drawn between any two points on the configuration's edge always pass through the configuration's interior, i.e., configurations with no recesses in the outline).
 
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100 Dr. Seuss Resources

      Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for children's picture books written and illustrated as Dr. Seuss. He had used the pen name Dr. Theophrastus Seuss in college and later used Theo LeSieg, and once Rosetta Stone, as well as Dr. Seuss.
      Geisel published 46 children's books, often characterized by imaginative characters, rhyme, and frequent use of anapestic meter. His most celebrated books include the bestselling Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who!, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.
       Numerous adaptations of his work have been created, including 11 television specials, four feature films, a Broadway musical and four television series. He won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958 for Horton Hatches the Egg and again in 1961 for And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. Geisel also worked as an illustrator for advertising campaigns, most notably for Flit and Standard Oil, and as a political cartoonist for PM, a New York City newspaper. During World War II, he worked in an animation department of the United States Army, where he wrote Design for Death, a film that later won the 1947 Academy Award for Documentary Feature. Read more . . .
About Dr. Seuss and Video:
Dr. Seuss Lesson Plans & Activities:
Dr. Seuss Organizers, Printable Worksheets & Coloring Pages:
Games About Dr. Seuss Characters:
Dr. Seuss Party Ideas:
Dr. Seuss Lessons:
Dr. Seuss Crafts:
Dr. Seuss Sweets and Recipes:
Dr. Seuss for The Classroom Bulletin Board etc...
Dr. Seuss Toys:
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Sunday, May 5, 2013

Buster Brown Silent Films

The above silent film is of Buster Brown in 1904, "Buster and Tige Put a Balloon Vender Out of Business."

More films:
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The Buster Brown Musical Comedy

      In 1905, a play was performed on Broadway at the Majestic titled Buster Brown. It starred a 21-year-old adult dwarf actor named Master Gabriel (1882–?), born Gabriel Weigel. Photos of Master Gabriel in the role show him very convincing as a child. Gabriel appeared in another children's oriented play in 1908 Little Nemo and a return engagement as Buster Brown in 1913. It also featured famous animal actor George Ali as Tige.
      This musical comedy played and toured the country for many years afterwards. The characters in "Buster Brown" changed throughout it performances many times. Buster Brown for instance, was also played by two other dwarf actors, Master Jimmie Rosen, and Master Rice and Maser Helton who was an actual child actor played Buster in the winter of 1906 in Los Angeles.

Good Attraction at The Grand
"Jack" Bell as "Tige"in Buster
Brown at the Grand in 1908. 
      R. F. Outcault's cartoon comedy, 'Buster Brown," will be the attraction at the Grand theatre all next week, commencing Sunday evening, March 1rst, with matinees Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. 
      "Buster" is too well known to the public to need explanation as to the character of the play; suffice it to say that the best of the many escapades in which "Buster," and "Tige" and "Mary Jane" have figured in the comic supplements of newspapers, have been selected, and so joined together by cleverly written dialogue that a comedy of unusual merit has been evolved. Twenty new song hits, the Bobby Burns Brigade, the Hughes Musical Trio, and a singing , dancing chorus of 25 pretty girls, are only a few of the features of this production. Buster Brown has been seen by millions, and the high standard of the attraction having been kept up, it will be seen and highly appreciated by many more. Goodwins weekly, 1908

"Buster Brown"
Buster, Tige and Mary Jane, in "Buster Brown
at the Grand Theatre."
      The ever-welcome "Buster Brown" will be at the Grand theatre, with matinees Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, for one week commencing tonight. Since musical comedies first became popular none has ever been given great patronage than Mr. Outcault's play. The impression prevailed for some time that "Buster Brown" was an entertainment designed for the amusement of children only, but the error o f this was discovered and the grown-ups now comprise a very considerable part of "Buster's" patrons. They have found that it contains all that combines to make a musical comedies successful. It is full of bright, snappy dialogue that makes it always interesting. Its musical numbers are all new and of the character that will cause those inclined to humor whistle to keep busy for a while. The music is of the jingly sort, that is always a feature of productions of this sort, but with "Buster" it is even a greater feature than is si with any other current musical comedy. That this is a fact is largely due to the effective manner in which a large chorus is employed. Another quality, and a very essential oe to the success of all in which the chorus figures, is what is commonly termed ginger. Or this very desirable element "Buster Brown" has a superabundance, as is amply attested to by the audience in its insistence on repetitions of all numbers in which the chorus participates. Some of the numbers for which the audience have shown their appreciation are "Won't You Be My Baby Boy," "Old Bill Oliver," "I Won't Play Unless You Coax Me," "Rosebud," "I Couldn't Make a Hit With Suzie," and a new "Buster Brown" song. An added feature this season is the celebrated Hughes musical trio. Salt Lake Herald, 1908

Buster Brown Girls in Gay New York at The Bijou This Week.
More clippings from newspapers
"Grand-Commencing with today's matinee, "Buster Brown," the boy hero of the Sunday comic papers, aided and abetted by the faithful Tige, repeat the laughable stunts that have made him famous all round the world and have incidentally made a fortune for his creator. Buster is, of course, accompanied by parents, relatives and all the familiar friends-and then some. Maser Helton is the latest actor to appear as Buster and at the same time the youngest. Buster has hitherto been played by a man, but Helton is a "real boy." Tige is the same Tige that was Tige last year and ma is the same ma, but pa and the policeman and almost all the other members of the company have not been seen here in the parts before. There is a chorus of forty and all the girls are guaranteed to be pretty, young, clever dancers and good singers." Lost Angeles Herald, 1906

Times Dispatch: Richmond, Va., February 11, 1906
      Now, boys and girls, likewise parents, "Master Gabriel," the most talented toy comedian, will make things lively at the Academy on Wednesday, matinee and night. In the latest musical extravaganza, "Buster Brown," this little "bunch of flesh" make his audience quiver with laughter, while his side-splitting partner, "Tige" (his dog) is every ready to assist in mirth-provoking mischievousness. How delightfully pleasing it is to be able to witness a musical play, youthfully pure in every way, and at the same time entertaining to both old and young. There is not a company on the road today, with more beautiful and accomplished lady vocalists than the "Buster Brown Company" possesses. The male members are equally as strong vocally, as the female members, making in all a chorus of voices seldom heard in the most elaborate musical productions of to-day.
      Master Gabriel, though a midgit, is proportioned exactly and perfectly as a four or five-year-old child. He is twenty-one years old, but to see him on the stage, one would not think him other than the real thing-the real "Buster Brown" of comedy life, he and his wonderfully clever dog, "Tige," that did not want to be a "mad dog," nor what is more, "kiss grandma," even to pleas his master, because he did not like her looks, nor her temper. These two are enough for a whole evening's merriment, but when other good things are thrown in, such as a little of vaudeville, farce, musical comedy, newest songs, pretty girls, fine drills, etc... then one has more than the worth of his money.
"Rice plays the part
of Buster, and is admirably suited
to it. He is 22 years old, but is a
child in size, and he romps through
his work with the innocence of a
boy and the intelligence of a well-
seasoned actor." Arthur Hill plays
opposite him as Tige.
      George All, who takes the part of "Tige," is very clever. If there ever was a man who grew into the skin of a sagacious brindle pup more perfectly than he, it has never been known, This make-believe "pup" is about the funniest "made" article that ever came over the pike. He is  warranted to cure a chronic case of the blues. His muzzle is more doggish than his original of the cartoon drawing; in fact, he affects a great deal of "dog" in all his actions. He has a wicked eye, which he rolls ominously at "dear grandma," and when she appears in his proximity his teeth show very dangerously. He is quite as much an actor as 'Buster." He can play "mad dog," "Scotch collie" (where he delights in his plaid and cap for a show occasion), and in general protection of the place; in fact any child might be happy in the possession of such a sagacious and humorous beast.
      On the whole, the present offering is far more successful than the general run of dramatizations in that it pleases young and old alike.
      This is positively the same company that appeared at the Academy last season and scored such a big hit.
Buster Brown played by Harold West, 1911.
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Saturday, May 4, 2013

Paint a Britto Inspired Vase of Flowers

      Romero Britto (6 October 1963) is a contemporary Brazilian-American Neo-pop artist, painter, serigrapher, and sculptor. He combines elements of cubism, pop art and graffiti painting in his work. Britto has lived in Miami, Florida since 1989. His paintings inspire countless elementary school children in the United States. This is primarily because his subjects are fun and simple and his patterned, colorful surfaces are certainly easy to emulate if you are young and enthusiastic for art! I've included below a couple of bright, still life paintings that hung in a local school art exhibit this spring. These second grade students looked at Britto's imaginative artworks and painted a few of their own based upon his vision.

Child artworks inspired by Romero Britto.
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A Complimentary Colored Cubism

A simple complimentary colored cubism project for
 young art students, ideal for students fourth grade
and up.
      Arrange in the center of the classroom a still life that may be viewed in the round. This will enable students to draw it from a wide variety of perspectives. Students should draw their ideas lightly on a heavy piece of white drawing paper with a pencil before deciding upon a design. Encourage your students to walk around the still life and draw parts of it from different view points. Have them draw the elements simply, with basic geometric shapes. After the drawings are done, hand out colored pencils or watercolor trays for the addition of color and pattern. If you wish, you may insist that students choose complimentary colors to complete the assignment. This additional condition helps teachers meet with required standards that teach color combinations from the color wheel.  
      Cubism comes in three stylized types: Protocubism, Analytical Cubism and Synthetical Cubism.
      Protocubism was an intermediary transition phase in the history of art chronologically extending from 1904 to 1910. Evidence suggests that the production of proto-Cubist paintings resulted from a wide-ranging series of experiments, circumstances, influences and conditions, rather than from one isolated static event, trajectory, artist or discourse. With its roots stemming from at least the late 19th century this period can be characterized by a move towards the radical geometrization of form and a reduction or limitation of the color palette (in comparison with Fauvism). It is essentially the first experimental and exploratory phase of an art movement that would become altogether more extreme, known from the spring of 1911 as Cubism.
      Proto-Cubist artworks typically depict objects in geometric schemas of cubic or conic shapes. The illusion of classical perspective is progressively stripped away from objective representation to reveal the constructive essence of the physical world (not just as seen). The term is applied not only to works of this period by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, but to a range of art produced in France during the early 1900s, by such artists as Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Henri le Fauconnier, Robert Delaunay, and to variants developed elsewhere in Europe. Proto-Cubist works embrace many disparate styles, and would affect diverse individuals, groups and movements, ultimately forming a fundamental stage in the history of Modern art of the 20th-century.
The synthetical style which developed
out of the two former styles was
characterized by the use of collaged
elements and a looser interpretation
 of the elements being portrayed.
The elements became flatter and
more abstract.
      The term Cubism did not come into general usage until 1911, mainly with reference to Metzinger, Gleizes, Delaunay, and Léger. In 1911, the poet and critic Guillaume Apollinaire accepted the term on behalf of a group of artists invited to exhibit at the Brussels Indépendants. The following year, in preparation for the Salon de la Section d'Or, Metzinger and Gleizes wrote and published Du "Cubisme" in an effort to dispel the confusion raging around the word, and as a major defence of Cubism (which had caused a public scandal following the 1911 Salon des Indépendants and the 1912 Salon d'Automne in Paris). Clarifying their aims as artists, this work was the first theoretical treatise on Cubism and it still remains the clearest and most intelligible. The result, not solely a collaboration between its two authors, reflected discussions by the circle of artists who met in Puteaux and Courbevoie. It mirrored the attitudes of the "artists of Passy", which included Picabia and the Duchamp brothers, to whom sections of it were read prior to publication. The concept developed in Du "Cubisme" of observing a subject from different points in space and time simultaneously, i.e., the act of moving around an object to seize it from several successive angles fused into a single image ('multiple viewpoints' or 'mobile perspective'), is now a generally recognized phenomenon of the Cubist style.
The analytical cubism
describes painted elements
with faceted shapes and was
 most usually painted in
monochromatic colors.
      Analytic cubism (1909–1912) is a style of painting Picasso developed along with Georges Braque using monochrome brownish and neutral colors. Both artists took apart objects and "analyzed" them in terms of their shapes. Picasso and Braque’s paintings at this time have many similarities. Synthetic cubism (1912–1919) was a further development of the genre, in which cut paper fragments – often wallpaper or portions of newspaper pages – were pasted into compositions, marking the first use of collage in fine art.

More Art Lessons About Cubism:
Cubist Still-life: Hong Wen School
My Cultural Heritage Cubist Portrait Lesson
Cubist Drawings

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Thursday, May 2, 2013

A Terrible Horrible Cursive Exercise

      This cursive exercise demonstrates just "how" teachers may integrate a
reading exercise with a penmanship project. Students can draw a picture of
themselves having a terrible, horrible face and then practice cursive letter
patterns over and over around their aching heads! Oh, how horrible! This
repetitive drawing helps develop motor coordination, pattern making, and
includes kinesthetic learning too!
     Cursive, also known as script, joined-up writing, joint writing, linking, running writing, or handwriting is any style of penmanship in which the symbols of the language are written in a conjoined and/or flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster. However, not all cursive copybooks join all letters. Formal cursive is generally joined, but casual cursive is a combination of joins and pen lifts. In the Arabic, Latin, and Cyrillic alphabets, many or all letters in a word are connected, sometimes making a word one single complex stroke.
      While the terms cursive or script are popular in the United States for describing this style of writing the Latin script, this term is rarely used elsewhere. Joined-up writing is more popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, and linking is more popular in New Zealand. The term handwriting is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
      Cursive is considered distinct from printscript, in which the letters of a word are unconnected and in Roman/Gothic letterform rather than joined-up script. Printscript is also commonly called "manuscript", "block letter", "print writing", "block writing" (and sometimes simply "print" which confusingly also refers to mechanical printing).
      A distinction is also made between cursive and "italic" penmanship, in which some ascenders and descenders of cursive have loops which provide for joins and italic which is derived from chancery cursive, which mostly uses non-looped joins or no joins. There are no joins from g, j, q or y, and a few other joins are discouraged. Italic penmanship became popular in the 15th century Italian Renaissance. The term "italic" as it relates to handwriting is not to be confused with typed letters that slant forward. Many, but not all letters in the handwriting of the Renaissance were joined, as they are today in italic.
      In Hebrew cursive and Roman cursive, the letters are not connected. In the research domain of handwriting recognition, this writing style is called connected cursive, to indicate the difference between the phenomenon of italic and sloppy appearance of individual letters (cursive) and the phenomenon of connecting strokes between letters, i. e., a letter-to-letter transition without a pen lift (connected cursive).
      The origin of the cursive method is associated with practical advantages of writing speed and infrequent pen lifting to accommodate the limitations of the quill. Quills are fragile, easily broken, and will spatter unless used properly. Steel dip pens followed quills; they were sturdier, but still had some limitations. The individuality of the provenance of a document was a factor also, as opposed to machine font.
      Locating projects and ideas in teacher's manuals about the instruction of cursive or penmanship is becoming a thing of the past. However, with a little ingenuity one can develop some very diverting ideas that promote the teaching of the subject on the internet. I will include in this journal a collection of ideas and original projects that I will design to promote the teaching of cursive writing.


"Renowned author Judith Viorst reads her beloved children's book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC, as part of Bookmarked 2010! a celebration of reading with children, produced by the Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood. For more information about Bookmarked! visit www.lucysbookclub.org."
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Arcimboldo Paper Portraits

Vertumnus, a portrait of today. Rudolf II,
 Holy Roman Emperor painted as
 Vertumnus, Roman God of the seasons,
 c. 1590-1. Skokloster Castle, Sweden.
      Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526 or 1527 – July 11, 1593) was an Italian painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made entirely of such objects as fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish, and books – that is, he painted representations of these objects on the canvas arranged in such a way that the whole collection of objects formed a recognizable likeness of the portrait subject.
      His father, Biagio Arcimboldo, was an artist. Like his father, Giuseppe Arcimboldo started his career as a designer for stained glasses and frescoes at local cathedrals when he was 21 years old.
       In 1562 he became court portraitist to Ferdinand I at the Habsburg court in Vienna, and later, to Maximilian II and his son Rudolf II at the court in Prague. He was also the court decorator and costume designer. King Augustus of Saxony, who visited Vienna in 1570 and 1573, saw Arcimboldo's work and commissioned a copy of his "The Four Seasons" which incorporates his own monarchic symbols.
      Arcimboldo's portraits of human heads made up of vegetables, plants, fruits, sea creatures and tree roots, were greatly admired by his contemporaries and remain a source of fascination today.
At a distance, his portraits looked like normal human portraits. However, individual objects in each portrait were actually overlapped together to make various anatomical shapes of a human. They were carefully constructed by his imagination. Besides, when he assembled objects in one portrait, he never used random objects. Each object was related by characterization. In The Librarian, Arcimboldo used objects that signified the book culture at that time, such as the curtain that created individual study rooms in a library. The animal tails, which became the beard of the portrait, were used as dusters. By using the everyday objects, the portraits were decoration and still life paintings at the same time. His works showed not only nature and human beings, but also how close they were related.
      After the portrait was released to the public, some scholars, who had a close relationship with the book culture at that time, argued that the portrait ridiculed their scholarship. In fact, Arcimboldo criticized the phenomenon of the rich people’s misbehavior and showed others what happened at that time through his art. In The Librarian, although the painting looked ridiculous, it criticized some wealthy people who collected the books in order to satisfy their ownership, instead of to read the books.
      Art critics debate whether his paintings were whimsical or the product of a deranged mind. A majority of scholars hold to the view, however, that given the Renaissance fascination with riddles, puzzles, and the bizarre (see, for example, the grotesque heads of Leonardo da Vinci), Arcimboldo, far from being mentally imbalanced, catered to the taste of his times.
Arcimboldo died in Milan, to which he retired after leaving the Prague service. It was during this last phase of his career that he produced the composite portrait of Rudolph II (see above), as well as his self-portrait as the Four Seasons. His Italian contemporaries honored him with poetry and manuscripts celebrating his illustrious career.
      When the Swedish army invaded Prague in 1648, during the Thirty Years' War, many of Arcimboldo's paintings were taken from Rudolf II's collection.
      His works can be found in Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Habsburg Schloss Ambras in   Innsbruck, the Louvre in Paris, as well as numerous museums in Sweden. In Italy, his work is in Cremona, Brescia, and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut, the Denver Art Museum in Denver, Colorado, the Menil Foundation in Houston, Texas, the Candie Museum in Guernsey and the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid also own paintings by Arcimboldo.


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