Giuseppe Arcimboldo was the son of the painter Biagio Arcimboldo. He probably had learnt the rudiments of the craft in the workshop of his father, before moving on, in the early 1540s, to an apprenticeship with a master from outside the family. Probably his earliest work, executed together with his father, was the fresco decoration on the side walls of the chapel dedicated to St John the Baptist in the church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore in Milan.

At the age of twenty he was engaged as a designer of stained-glass windows and as a painter of various decorations in the Milan Cathedral. These works were carried out between 1549 and 1558. Another artistic undertaking in this period was the design of tapestries.

Arcimboldo left his homeland in 1562 and went to the court of Emperor Maximilian II.

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist 1545 Fresco San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, Milan	1000*1444 True Color 164 Kb
	Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist 1545 Fresco San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, Milan	1000*1420 True Color 161 Kb
	Scenes from the Old Testament 1549 Stained glass window Cathedral, Milan	465*2000 True Color 144 Kb
	Scenes from the Life of St Catherine of Alexandria 1549 Stained glass window Cathedral, Milan	550*2000 True Color 207 Kb
	Scenes from the Old Testament (detail) 1549 Stained glass window Cathedral, Milan	903*1200 True Color 173 Kb
	Dormition of the Virgin 1558 Tapestry, wool and silk, 423 x 470 cm Como, Cathedral	1042*1000 True Color 204 Kb