Melodi (Melody)

1947

Melodi (Melody), 1947. Stig Lindberg (Swedish, 1916–1982), Nordiska Kompaniet (Swedish, est. 1902). Plain weave bleached linen, loom width, printed; overall: 94.6 x 78.1 cm (37 1/4 x 30 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. B. P. Bole, Mr. and Mrs. Guerdon S. Holden, Mrs. Windsor T. White, and the L. E. Holden Fund 1947.212 This whimsical pattern combines Swedish folk culture and classical mythology, depicting acts of infatuation such as carving hearts into trees and keeping a lover’s lock of hair. The Greek figure Narcissus even makes an appearance on the wooden signposts as a male head engaged in a kiss with his own reflection. The cut hair braid may represent a lover’s lock of hair, a longstanding tradition to remember loved ones in Western cultures.