Skip to Main Content

Primavera [II]

c. 1920–25
designer

Josef Frank

(Swedish, born Austria, 1885–1967)
manufacturer

Haus & Garten

(Austrian, est. 1925)
linen: tabby weave, block printed, loom width
Overall: 95.7 x 77.9 cm (37 11/16 x 30 11/16 in.)
Educational Purchase Fund 1937.184
Location: not on view
This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Download, Print and Share

Did You Know?

The beds of sprouting flowers are meant to evoke rejuvenation and spring, or "primavera" in Italian.

Description

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.
Primavera [II]

Primavera [II]

c. 1920–25

Josef Frank, Haus & Garten

(Swedish, born Austria, 1885–1967), (Austrian, est. 1925)

See Also

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.