Costumes and drawings for court festivities and tournaments

Among the many tasks of a court artist featured the design and organization of festivals and tournaments, which Renaissance princes saw as their favourite means of political propaganda. The festive culture which developed in the Italian courts in the early modern period found its transalpine equivalent in the sumptuous tradition of pageant and tournaments of the Burgundian court. The Habsburgs, who claimed to be the heirs of the House of Burgundy, took over the legacy and introduced the tradition into their own court representations.

In addition to Arcimboldo's paintings, his drawings for courtly pageants were included in the Habsburg imperial art collection. A selection of sketches of various pageants and tournaments are now in the Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe of the Galleria degli Uffizi which were brought to Florence via the Tuscan branch of the Habsburg family. These drawings were originally gathered in a red Morocco portfolio. On the frontispiece there is a dedication to Emperor Rudolf II. Most of these sketches are in brown pen and blue wash.