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Carl Warner's Foodscapes from the previous post has been rightly lauded over the past years, but his was not the first artworks to feature food in such a breathtaking manner. Photographer Klaus Enrique Gerdes takes his cue from the artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo in creating his fanciful portraits using fruits, twigs and flowers.

Gerdes is a commercial photographer, but just like Warner, he became famous for his colorful and detailed portraits of objects that are so meticulously arranged that you can't help but see faces staring back at you. Because of this, he is now more popularly known as the photographer inspired by Arcimboldo, although he came up with the concept on his own and later on stumbled upon the artist's work while researching for his portrait project.


Anyone who has dabbled in some art history will immediately find similarities between these photographs and the iconic artworks of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, the 16th Century painter who up to now is viewed as both a genius and oddity in the art world. Arcimboldo was a court painter for a couple of European Royalties, but it was his panache for painting portraits entirely made up of fruits, vegetables, plants and other inanimate objects that still captures the imagination of art enthusiasts the world over.

The first of Arcimboldo's portraits that Gerdes recreated (up at the very top of this post) is Vertumnus, the Roman god of fruit trees and plants. This particular portrait was actually based on the likeness of the Emperor Rudolf II, and as such is meant to be a double portrait of sorts. The next portraits are the seasons personified, with Winter and Spring above, and Summer below.

The next portrait below is that of The Gardener or The Greengrocer, one of Arcimboldo's cleverer works; not only does it contain the hidden face of a plump and bearded man, it also represents a bowl of vegetables if you turn it upside down. The last portrait of the lady in flowers is most probably a re-imagining of Arcimboldo's Ninfa Flora. If you haven't yet seen any of Arcimboldo's works, you should definitely see a few before going over Gerdes' fantastic recreations.


Even if you simply reduce these pictures as photography inspired by Arcimboldo, you cannot doubt the skill that went into carefully selecting the right produce that would form the face of each portrait, painstakingly arranging each individual leaf and petal according to how it would look in unison with the face, and correctly setting the lighting and camera equipment in order to capture these faces at their most flattering angle.

Gerdes has obviously refined his skill as viewers are treated to both an image of flowers and fruits and an actual portrait. As he puts it, "...simple organic objects come together to create something more meaningful than the sum of its parts."


Klaus Enrique Gerdes has managed to create five portraits in Arcimboldo's style, although there is a chance that he will create more wonderful portraits. His website has more of his photography, along with his Facebook page which is updated regularly. Finally, don't forget to read up on Giuseppe Arcimboldo himself and find out more weirdly beautiful portraits from centuries past.

It's not uncommon to play with your food. Sometimes, (as in photographer Sayaka Minemura's case) you create cute culinary constructions using only what's in front of you. Carl Warner seems to have created a whole new level with his Foodscapes, which are complete landscapes made entirely from food.


Carl Warner is a commercial photographer who has worked in the advertising industry for over twenty years. He has done product and portrait photography on different commissions, although he is more of a landscape photographer at heart.

That natural tendency for landscapes translated well into his Foodscapes, a project that has kept him busy for over a decade. These colorful images were slowly amassed through advertising jobs from different agencies and as of this post, he has created over 50 eye-catching landscapes using foods and other products.


Warner's popularity soared in 2008 when he was featured in the Sunday Times, and pretty soon his mouthwatering creations were seen in magazines, television programs and even chain e-mails.

As you might have guessed, each scene takes an incredible amount of preparation and even more careful execution. Every aspect of the image is carefully set-up, from building rooftops to small pieces of vegetation. Warner's dedication to detail pays off every time as viewers unfamiliar with his work may glance them over and think them as actual landscapes. It's only when you take a closer look that you notice the substitutions; from broccoli for trees to watermelons for buildings to onions for balloons. Truly, the photographer has created entire landscape artworks made from the simplest of fruits and vegetables.


Warner's work begins well before the actual shoot; he has to look for the perfect fruit or vegetable to represent a specific kind tree or building. This sometimes means that he stares at vegetables at the supermarket in order to find the perfect prop. You can see for yourself that each piece of fruit and vegetable fits perfectly in the artwork.

Some of his more complex artworks can require several days and a team of model experts to assist with the production. In the London skyline scene at the very top for example, Warner worked with a team of five for three weeks in order to capture the essence of the city. His particular arrangement captures the most popular landmarks, from Big Ben to St. Paul's Cathedral to the London Eye. He spares no expense for his other Foodscapes as well.


Be sure to check out Carl Warner's website for more scrumptiously prepared Foodscapes. This behind-the-scene video shows how each layer of his landscapes from foods is carefully created. Most of these images have been collected in the book, Carl Warner's Food Landscapes. There's also the Carl Warner Food Landscapes 2012 Wall Calendar in case you're looking for some culinary inspiration for next year.