Art and creativity are some of the best ways for students to express their thoughts, emotions, and perceptions about the world around them. Recently, Schloss Krumbach International School’s students immersed themselves in a unique art project – drawing in the style of Giuseppe Archimboldo, a 16th-century Italian artist, who was known for his inventive portraits created entirely from objects such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish, and books. These symbolic representations were both surreal and beautiful, intriguing audiences with their innovative approach. The rich symbolism and distinctive style of his artworks present an interesting challenge and source of inspiration for students today.

Engaging in Arcimboldo-inspired art projects not only allowed our students to experiment with traditional portraiture but also sparked their creativity and imagination as they needed to think outside of the box to look at everyday items in new ways. Each object’s color, texture, and form come into play as students navigated the challenging process of constructing expressive and visually harmonious portraits.

On the pedagogical side, this art exercise was another innovative tool for cross-curricular learning which we practice at Schloss Krumbach, empowering students to see the references to the history and biology topics they covered, as well as teaching them to appreciate different periods and styles in art history.