The painting is Arcimboldo's most famous work and is a portrait of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II re-imagined as Vertumnus, the Roman god of metamorphoses in nature and life; the fruits and vegetables symbolize the abundance of the Golden Age that has returned under the Emperor's rule
Giuseppe Arcimboldo (Milan, c. 1527 - July 11, 1593) was a painter of the Italian Renaissance who became best known for portraits composed of all kinds of objects such as vegetables, fruits, flowers, books and fish
