Description of the picture:
The lawyer is Giuseppe Arcimboldo. 1570s Canvas, oil. 70×54
The artist often repeated the plots of his paintings, achieving greater expressiveness and special visual effects. Today, his work is attributed to the earliest manifestations of surrealistic trends in art. This happened with the canvas, which is called “Advocate” (or “Advocate-2”) – a repetition of work in 1566 under the name “Lawyer”.
In general terms, these are two almost identical canvases – paintings differ only in details. “Advocate” is an image of an elderly man in a black cap tightly fitting his head and a lush mantle richly trimmed with fur. His body is composed of numerous books, the bulk of which is a massive tome of law, adorned with massive silver clasps. They also play the role of decorations on the “camisole”. The importance of the character is emphasized by a large oval medallion on a gold chain.
But the most important thing in the picture is the character’s face. It is expressive, rude, with large features. But upon closer examination, it turns out that it is composed of objects that have nothing to do with law practice. A person’s face is composed of the usual food products that can be found in any kitchen. This is a fish, chicken and chicken carcass, expertly folded into a memorable and very effective image."