Arcimboldo – Bassano – Bruegel
at the KHM
Arcimboldo – Bassano – Bruegel
at the KHM
Exhibition at the KHM
Arcimboldo – Bassano – Bruegel
Arcimboldo – Bassano – Bruegel: The Times of Nature
Exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (KHM)
11 March to 29 June 2025
The KHM is once again presenting a first-class exhibition this spring. This time it’s all about nature. Landscapes, seasons and portraits of fruit, vegetables, fish and more await you!
The exhibition shows how people in 16th century Europe perceived their environment and depicted it in art. An important focus is on the depiction of the passage of time, especially through the seasons and months, which reflect the life cycle of nature.
Over 140 works by artists such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Jacopo and Leandro Bassano, Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer have been selected for this purpose.
We believe it will be an important and interesting exhibition!
Arcimboldo – Bassano – Bruegel
Tickets
The details
at a glance
Exhibition:
Arcimboldo – Bassano – Bruegel: The Times of Nature
Exhibition at the KHM
11 March until 29 June 2025
Opening hours:
Tuesday to Sunday, 10.00 – 18 .00 h
Thursday, 10.00 – 21.00 h
Open daily from June
Prices:
EUR 27 for adults from the start of the exhibition, ticket with timeslot
EUR 23 for students under 25, senior citizens over 65, people with disabilities
EUR 37 Flexi-Ticket
Tickets are available from us from the start of the exhibition at the same price as on the official website.
Digital Audio Guide
In English, Italian, German and French
EUR 5
Guided tours:
Guided tour in Englisch or German: Adult price (incl. admission): EUR 31, reduced: EUR 28, youth: EUR 6
Guided tour for children (german only): Adult price (incl. admission): EUR 31, children EUR 4
Only via the official website.
ICOM card:
ICOM members have free admission, but need a timeslot. This can be booked for EUR 4 on the official website.
About the exhibition
The Times of Nature
The Kunsthistorisches Museum owns the world’s largest collection of the Bassano family, artists, who are known for their outstanding landscape and nature paintings. A research project on this dynasty of artists provided the impetus for the current exhibition.
In addition to Jacopo and Leandro Bassano, the exhibition also includes works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer. The show comprises 140 works – not only paintings – but also sculptures, tapestries, clocks, globes, scientific instruments and historical manuscripts.
The works come not only from the KHM itself, but also in part from many international museums: for example from the Uffizi, Florence, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the National Gallery of Art, London, the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, but also from Vienna – from the Albertina, for example.
As already mentioned, the exhibition is about the seasons and cycles of nature. The aim is to show how Renaissance man orientated himself in the world and found his place in it.
Room 1
Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer are at the beginning of the development and thus also at the beginning of the exhibition. Da Vinci studied plants such as oak leaves and dyer’s broom – you will find these at the beginning of the tour. Around the same time, Albrecht Dürer captured nature in great detail in his depiction of a “dead European Roller” (Coracias garrulus) and a bound bouquet of violets. Cartography also gained in importance with the voyages of discovery: the exhibition presents globes by Gerhard Mercator and measuring instruments by Erasmus Habermel.
Room 2
This is followed by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Jacopo Bassano, who – almost simultaneously – intensively explored the theme of the seasons around the middle of the century. All three depicted the theme of the seasons. They developed their very own approaches and brought the seasons to the walls of private rooms!
Pieter Bruegel linked the seasons with human activities and captured the changing landscape through light and atmosphere – impressively seen in works such as ‘The Hunters in the Snow’ (winter), ‘The Dark Day’ (early spring) and ‘The Return of the Herd’ (autumn).
The star of the show is the Milanese Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who worked for the Habsburgs at the Viennese court. He created allegorical portraits of the seasons. He combined fruit, flowers and animals to create imaginative heads.
Room 3
The third room is dedicated to the Bassano family, who were the inspiration behind the exhibition. They celebrated great success with their depictions of the seasons right up to the 17th century.
On the one hand, there is the father, Jacopo Bassano, whose series of seasons were among the most successful pictorial genres. He combined the seasons with religious scenes. The ‘Spring’ shows the expulsion from paradise, the ‘Summer’ the sacrifice of Isaac and the ‘Autumn’ shows Moses receiving the tablets of the law. However, these religious scenes are rather small and can be seen in the background. In the foreground is the depiction of the everyday life of citizens and peasants.
Under Francesco Bassano, the size of the paintings increased, but the theme of the seasons remained. He also replaced the religious scenes with depictions of the signs of the zodiac.
And the third in the group is Leandro Bassano. His fascinating series of the Twelve Months occupies a central position in the exhibition. These show how the theme of the seasons evolved. The paintings, conceived for aristocrats and large rooms, surprisingly depict not only rural life, but also merchants and peasants associated with the aristocracy. The rural scenes are complemented by urban elements, conveying a multi-layered picture of society.
Summary
We believe that this exhibition is a great project for young and old. For scientists and for families.
For scientists, this juxtaposition and clarification of the development of these painting cycles is very exciting. But families with children can also discover the world of art – and Acrimboldo and his fruit faces are not the only ones to do so! But here you can – if the KHM allows it – create your own great works!
As soon as we are in Vienna, we will visit this exhibition!
Your Céline
Text rights: © Céline Mülich 2025, with reference to the press release, because we were not there ourselves.
Image rights:
1) Press images of the KHM
Albrecht Dürer, ‘Dead Eurasian Roller’, c. 1500, watercolour and opaque paint on vellum, heightened with opaque white and gold; 274 × 198 mm, Vienna, Albertina, © Albertina, Vienna
Jacopo Dal Ponte, called Bassano, ‘Summer (Sacrifice of Isaac)’, 1570/75, canvas, 78.5 × 110.5 cm, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, © KHM-Museumsverband
Francesco Dal Ponte, called Bassano, ‘Summer’, c. 1580, canvas, 111 × 145.5 cm, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, © KHM-Museumsverband
Leandro Dal Ponte, called Bassano, ‘June’, 1581/87, canvas: 145 × 216 cm, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Picture Gallery, © KHM-Museumsverband
2) Image rights © museos
Giuseppe Arcimboldo, ‘Summer’, dated 1563, limewood; 67 × 50.8 cm, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum
Giuseppe Arcimboldo, ‘Fire’, 1566, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, ‘The Hunters in the Snow (Winter)’, 1565, oak, 116.5 × 162 cm, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum
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