"Spring," Giuseppe Arcimboldo, 1563.

Arcimboldo (1527-93) is an Italian Mannerist painter best known for his surreal still lifes that form faces. These are felt today to be mostly novelties meant to amuse, but they're the work that has survived.

Very little of his more conventional work has been found, and most of it is, well, very conventional. Unremarkable, even. He saved all his creative energy for things like this.

Honestly, I'd like to give him credit for being a surrealist before surrealism was a thing. Here we have Spring, a woman made up completely of flowers and leaves, with lips of rose petals. What could be more appropriate?

It seems more suited for Flower Friday than Portrait Monday, but heck, it's a portrait of a season, isn't it?

Happy Portrait Monday!

From the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid.

#Art #Mannerism #GiuseppeArcimboldo #PortraitMonday #ProtoSurrealism #Spring

Crowning with Thorns, Titian (c.1570 - c.1575), https://etidiohnew.blogspot.com/2026/02/crowning-with-thorns-titian-c1570-c1575.html

#arts #paintings #mannerism #titian

Iustitia, Maerten van Heemskerck (1556), https://etidiohnew.blogspot.com/2026/01/iustitia-maerten-van-heemskerck-1556.html

#art #paintings #mannerism

The Angel. November 16, 2025.

#DEBTSART #DEBTSOC #humanoc #humanoidoc #humanart #humanoidart #mastoart #digitalart #angel #horror #horrorart #creepy #mannerism #manneristicart

Paradise, Tintoretto (c. 1592), https://etidiohnew.blogspot.com/2025/10/paradise-tintoretto-c-1592.html

#art #paintings #mannerism

"Portrait of a Noblewoman," Lavinia Fontana, 1580.

Fontana (1552-1614) is regarded as the first female career artist in Western Europe, as she relied solely on commissions to support herself and her family. Her husband acted as her agent, and raised their 11 children (!).

At the time this was painted, she was a popular portraitist in her native Bologna, very sought after by noblewomen. Apparently she was beloved by her clients; previous clients would sit and chat while she painted someone else's portrait. Fontana later moved to Rome, upon being patronized by Pope Clement VIII, where she painted more portraits and a series of altarpieces and religious paintings.

It's generally agreed that this particular painting was of a young woman about to be married. She's obviously a product of wealth. Those clothes! Those jewels! She has the pelt of a marten hanging from her belt, itself set with jewels. She looks distracted, and a bit unhappy, but at the time, even wealthy women had few choices in life. Even the small dog begging for attention isn't enough to bring a smile to her face.

Happy Portrait Monday!

From the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC.

#Art #LaviniaFontana #Mannerism #Renaissance #WomenArtists #WomenInArt #PortraitMonday