When he painted a portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II (1552-1612), Giuseppe Arcimboldo used his imagination, and portrayed him as "Vertumnus," the Roman god of vegetation and the seasons. It's fun to find the different fruits, vegetables and flowers he used: pea-pod eyelids, a gourd for the forehead. Court painters of the time usually produced flattering portraits of rulers, to be displayed at the palace or give to foreign dignitaries for prospective brides. It is lucky for Arcimboldo that Rudolf had a sense of humor and appreciated his imagination and sense of fantasy. In this activity, students may look at photos of different creatures: mammals, birds, fish, insects and reptiles and think about mixing the different parts of their bodies to make a fantasy creature.