Thank you for your comment. I am very pleased that you have discovered a new, interesting artist because of my post.
For me Arcimboldo is a master of the grotesque, the paradox and the deception. His paintings are irritating, but also very fascinating when you get involved with them. He was an exponent of Mannerism, a style of the Italian High Renaissance in which allegorical or enigmatic representation was an essential element.
Of course, I've read about Mannerism, but never really knew anything about it. I went to Google and put the names Hieronymus Bosch and Arcimboldo together. Sure enough, there was an exhibit in France last year that featured the work of Bosch, Brueghel, and Arcimboldo. That must have been something to see, and experience.
Yes, your blog opened ideas for me, areas to explore. This makes life not only more interesting, but also more compehensible, I think, as we see the relationships between cultures and generations. Your blog was indeed very fruitful for me. Thank you!
Because you mentioned Bruegel: last year there was a really great exhibition here in Vienna about this artist, whose work I really appreciate. I reported about it here. For someone interested in art, Vienna is an inexhaustible source of inspiration.