Mattes & Miniatures were honoured to realise the vision of artist Philip Haas, fabricating four monumental portrait busts for exhibition 'The Four Seasons'. These are 3-dimensional interpretations of the Italian Renaissance painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s portrait series of the same name.

As in Arcimboldo’s paintings, the physical features of the four sculpted figures are rendered in botanical forms appropriate to each season. Spring is a profusion of brightly coloured flowers. The man’s cheeks are rose blossoms, petals hang from tulip earlobes and he wears a coat of green leaves with a collar of daisies. In contrast, Winter suggests the barrenness of that time of year through the figure’s headdress of twisted tree limbs and ivy and face of a gnarled grey tree trunk devoid of foliage.

The Four Seasons acknowledge nature’s rhythmic cycles and yet as sculptural portraits of people, they further represent the natural aging process from youth to old age.

‘Winter’ was first revealed at the National Gallery of Art, Washington in 2010, followed by the Piazza del Duomo, Milan, and the Gardens of Versaille.

All Four Seasons were then unveiled at Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2012, before embarking on an on-going journey through prestigious galleries and locations across the US.