A few weeks ago, winter left to give space to the most desired season of the year, spring! Flowers, light, bright colors, sun and vitality are the elements that characterize it. Indeed, this season has been the “muse” for many authors, painters and musicians. Arcimboldo, a painter of 1500, has created four works, representing all the seasons. Spring is a woman made up of a great variety of flowers, with the head turned to the left. The whole figure originates from a floral composition, the skin of the face and the lips are rose petals, buds and corollas, the hair is a colorful and luxuriant bouquet, the eyes are “belladonna” berries. A necklace of daisies adorns the neck, while the body is covered with a wide variety of leaves. This work is a beautiful testimony of spring, making it metaphorically a person who probably represents the stage of childhood, gifted with a vigorous and vital personality. This is why, even today at school, we study this work of art: children represent the season with the color of the rainbow, they draw flowers, make colorful wreaths and learn sweet poems. Unconsciously, this season accentuates the values of rebirth, of good wishes through the representation of the iris, which we find depicted in the painting on the woman’s breast. The lily, on the other hand, crowns her hair and, since ancient times, it has been considered a symbol of sovereignty and purity. In short, this season is represented in various ways, starting with children in schools with their colorful drawings, up to adults, with symbolic, metaphorical and significant representations, to fully depict the joy and sensations of the season. Arcimboldo managed to combine all these elements together with those of nature, personifying it in a painting and fully capturing the attention of the viewers through his unique and symbolic style.
