Primavera [II]

c. 1920–25

Primavera [II], c. 1920–25. Josef Frank (Swedish, born Austria, 1885–1967), Haus & Garten (Austrian, est. 1925). Block printed tabby weave linen, loom width; overall: 95.7 x 77.9 cm (37 11/16 x 30 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Educational Purchase Fund 1937.184 Though designed in Austria, this textile was block-printed by the English company G. P. and J. Baker based in London. In block printing every color requires a separate block, indicating that production of this design required 35 or more blocks. The design is now screenprinted, produced, and marketed by the Stockholm-based firm Svenskt Tenn. The name is derived from the Italian Renaissance painting Primavera by Sandro Botticelli dating to the late 1400s, which Josef Frank saw while visiting Florence. Botticelli’s painting features a forest floor strewn with identifiable wildflowers, an approach that Frank incorporated whimsically by arranging recognizable tulips, daisies, and violets, among other species. The beds of sprouting flowers are meant to evoke rejuvenation and spring, or "primavera" in Italian.