The Allegory of Fire

We'll start by looking into the theme of this piece of art. One can interpret the painting as a warning of the dangers of greed, arrogance, and lust. The underlying message is that wealth and power are fleeting while humility and purity endure.

However, Arcimboldo's illustration is not just about messages; it's about his technique. Though he seems to be drawing on paper with ink rather than paint, the paper only covers the areas visible in one plane at any given time while sections further back recede into the darkness behind him. Arcimboldo's technique can be referred to as illusionistic projection, or what is often referred to simply as "fancy." Now that we have a better idea of what the artist's aim was, let's look at how he achieved that goal. Three-dimensional space is not flat, but rather it is composed of planes arranged in front and back of one another.

Arcimboldo's painting is almost entirely two-dimensional, but it captures the essence of three-dimensional space by giving the illusion of a third dimension. The main way he did this was by using his own body to create planes across which he could project elements from different sides. As the artist is only visible in one plane at any one time, he can compose convincing three-dimensional pictures by simply looking in the right direction at the right angle.

Other interesting aspects of this painting are its scale and its lighting. The idea of scale refers to how tiny or large a figure is compared to his surroundings. Here, the subject of the painting is so large by comparison to his environment that he appears as if he is a giant. The lighting of this painting is also unusual since even though there are a number of different planes present in the painting, they all seem to overlap one another; this illustrates how light can be reflected off objects at different angles and with different intensities, which give the illusion that they are all overlapping one another.

The painting itself comprises three main elements: The human body, objects, and nature. Arcimboldo's ability to combine these three elements was one of his main strengths and why he is considered a master of his craft. We can see evidence of the human body in two large heads made up of diverse objects ranging from fruit to birds. We can also see nature in the face constructed out of various plants growing out in front of him. The Allegory of fire is currently situated in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.