The Gardener (Arcimboldo)

''The Gardener'' (Italian - ''L'ortolano''), ''The Vegetable Gardener'' or ''Vegetables in a Bowl'' is a 1587–1590 oil on panel painting by

Giuseppe Arcimboldo Giuseppe Arcimboldo (; also spelled ''Arcimboldi'') (1526 or 1527 – 11 July 1593) was an Italian painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made entirely of objects such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish and books. These w ...

, now in the

Museo Civico Ala Ponzone Museo Civico Ala Ponzone is a public museum and art gallery located in the 16th-century Palazzo Affaitati in Cremona, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. ...

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

, Italy. One way up it shows a bowl of vegetables - the other way up it shows a human face by

pareidolia Pareidolia (; ) is the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus, usually visual, so that one sees an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none. Common examples are perceived images of animals, ...

. The face includes several suggestions of the male and female genitalia, meaning that it can be interpreted as

Priapus In Greek mythology, Priapus (; grc, Πρίαπος, ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term ...

, the ithyphallic pagan god of fertility and protector of gardens. The same painter also produced '' The Fruit Basket'' and '' The Cook''. Arcimboldo Vegetables

Paintings by Giuseppe Arcimboldo category:1590 paintings {{16C-painting-stub