From New to Old World: An analysis of the representation and circulation of American fauna based on the Four Elements by Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1560-1580)

Abstract

The following research project proposes an analysis of the circulation and representation of fauna from the American continent traded in 16th century Europe, focusing on the Quattro Elementi set (1566) made by Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526-1593), an Italian painter from the 16th century. Arcimboldo developed a growing interest in objects from the American continent at the Habsburg court, producing works and case studies based on the different animals, vegetables and objects that made up the collection of the Holy Empire's cabinet of curiosities and its menagerie. The main objective of this research is to understand the commercial network built on these objects and animals, reconstituting the historical process of disputes, adaptations and explorations that permeate the transcultural relationship established by the circulation of species between territories located in the New and Old Worlds. The idea is to think not only about the agency of Europeans, especially Arcimboldo and the Habsburg imperial court, but also about the different agents involved in this network: natives, traders and ambassadors are examples of central characters. Furthermore, the agency of objects - which change their symbolism in circulation between continents, sometimes serving as the social status of knowledge in the cabinet of curiosities, sometimes as physical proof of the alterity of new territories and their inhabitants - is also part of the central core of analysis of the search.Keywords: Kunstkammer; naturalia; colonialism; Holy Empire.