Hello, Fruit Face!: The Paintings Of Giuseppe Arcimboldo (Adventures In Art)

Hello, Fruit Face!: The Paintings of Giuseppe Arcimboldo (Adventures in Art)

From School Library JournalGrade 4-8-Pictorial volumes that provide glimpses into the work of two very different artists. Journey features Bodmer's paintings of the Plains Indians. The Swiss artist's watercolor art, reproduced here on full and double-page spreads, accurately portrays a way of life soon to disappear. The accompanying text provides background on tepees, earth lodges, spiritual beliefs, and other aspects of Plains life. Readers interested in the remarkable journey of these two men can learn more about it in Russell Freedman's An Indian Winter (Holiday, 1992). Hello, Fruit Face! features the 16th-century Italian artist's unusual portraits composed of elements from the natural world. For example, the full-color portrait of Emperor Rudolf II as Vertumnus, the God of gardens and the seasons, is composed of fruit and flowers. The text encourages readers to decipher these images and does an excellent job of explaining the symbolism in an accessible manner. Although Arcimboldo was famous in his own time as court painter to the Hapsburgs, he is not well known today; this book will help introduce his work to a new generation. Both books are beautifully designed.Robin L. Gibson, Muskingum County Library System, Zanesville, OHCopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Introduces the work of the sixteenth-century Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldi, or Arcimboldo, and discusses his distinctive paintings of human faces made of flowers, fruits, animals, and other objectsFrom BooklistGiuseppe Arcimboldo, a sixteenth-century Italian artist, is remembered for his arrangements of such items as flowers, fruits, vegetables, animals, or books into strange but recognizable portraits of people. This short, large-format book features large-scale reproductions of a dozen works by the artist, accompanied by information about his life, his style of painting, and descriptions and discussions of the paintings themselves. Translated from the German, the text is informative but avuncular and sometimes coy and condescending in tone: "But who is Summer smiling at, we wonder?" Still, children will be intrigued by the paintings, which are seldom found in books of art for young people. A good resource for art teachers and an eye-catching choice for display in libraries. Carolyn PhelanFrom the Publisher'Adventures in Art' is a bright and exciting series that opens up the world of art to children of all ages. It tantalizes and inspires, stimulating enjoyment and seeking answers to the 'story' behind the picture.