Four Seasons?

But they're paintings of people.

But if you look closer...

It's what they call trompe l'oeil.

Oh, right!

From far are their portraits, and from close up you see fruit and other things in nature.

That pretty girl made of flowers symbolizes the spring.

And the one with lots of colors is summer.

Peach cheeks and lips made of cherries.

Mmmmm.

That makes me really hungry.

No doubt about that one.

It's autumn.

They go from the youngest to the oldest to show the cycle of the four seasons.

Great!

Winter's an old mammoth of dry wood.

He looks sad.

Look, the painter's name is part of the painting.

Archimboldo.

Italian.

A painter famous, of course, for his trompe l'oeil.

He also made reversible paintings that you could look at right-side up or upside down.

I'd be right-side up if he painted me now!

Look, there's the date.

1573.

Ah!

Guess that means he must be dead.

What a shame.

I wanted him to paint me with jelly cheeks, licorice hair, and, uh, let's see, teeth of chocolate?

All black?

You know what?

It wouldn't be a trompe l'oeil.

The Four Seasons.

The Louvre Museum, Paris.