Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
June 2, 2020 – May 2, 2021
The Philip Hulitar Sculpture Garden
The Four Arts presents The Four Seasons (2010) by contemporary American artist Philip Haas. The group of painted fiberglass sculptures are inspired by the portrait series by the Italian Mannerist Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526/1527–1593). As in Arcimboldo’s whimsical paintings, the physical features of the four figures are rendered in floral, fruit and vegetables appropriate to each season.
Arcimboldo, who was the court portraitist to the Habsburg Imperial Courts in Vienna and Prague for twenty-five years, painted The Four Seasons in 1563 and presented them to his patron Maximilian II on New Year’s Day, 1569. Hailed for their wit and artifice, the paintings were popular at court and solidified his reputation as the most modern painter of his time. Despite his renown, Arcimboldo faded into obscurity after his death, until the twentieth century, when the Surrealists (Salvador Dalí in particular) rediscovered his idiosyncratic and bizarre style. His legacy continues to influence contemporary artists like Haas today.
Haas’s interpretations made in 2010 of Arcimboldo’s, eccentric yet scientifically accurate composite heads are puzzles crafted with flowers, ivy, moss, fungi, vegetables, fruit, trees, bark, branches, and twigs. The ‘theater’ of the Pannill Pavilion provides the perfect ‘stage set’ for the sculptures. Their reconfiguration of the human head will delight visitors of all ages. Haas’s sculptures also offer a revelatory viewing experience: he recreates two-dimensional paintings as three-dimensional forms, allowing viewers to walk around them and witness nature’s rhythmic cycles from different vantage points.
The Four Seasons is on loan to The Society of the Four Arts from the artist. The loan of The Four Seasons is made by the generosity of Alice (Kit) Pannill.
The Philip Hulitar Sculpture Garden and the Pannill Pavilion, off Four Arts Plaza in Palm Beach, are open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is no charge to visit the Garden or view the sculptures. In accordance with CDC recommendations, visitors are asked to wear face masks and respect social distancing.