Max Liebermann, German
Women Taking a Spin Class, 1887
Oil on canvas
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THROWBACK THURSDAY: MASTERPIECE #964 (1/8/14)
Info, or perhaps links that point to more info, about this artist can be found here, here (archived if necessary), here, here, here, here (archived if necessary), here, here, here, here (archived if necessary), here (can be read in full for free on Fridays), here, here, here, here, here, here, here (clicking NDB currently shows nothing in the Google translation. If that’s still the case, both the Chrome and Firefox browsers can automatically translate.), here, and here, perhaps in addition to what’s in his Wikipedia page (Google translated German Wikipedia page has more).
/// It’s not easy to be The Flax Spinners.
There’s no “learning curve” there for beginners.
The Flax Barn at Laren
hires women deemed barren,
and child orphans who get paid with dinners.
/// As they spin, workers cannot relax.
The boss fires any orphan who slacks.
Must be speedy yet tidy.
As each girl was told Friday:
“Just the flax, Ma’am, we just want the flax.”
/// Pulled out thin into thread— as girth dwindles,
kids use flywheels to wrap it on spindles.
The goal of this spinnin’
is high-thread-count linen,
but these workers store bedding in bindles.
/// Floortje works for the perks spinning brings.
There’s her salary plus other things.
When her sister would sob,
“Can’t you get me a job?”
Floortje did it— by pulling some strings.
/// The shop steward, from her entourage,
got a pretty flax flower corsage.
She reports those who choose
to take off wooden shoes,
to ensure there is no sabotage.
/// Flax grows out of the earth, just like weeds,
and the plant serves a few human needs.
Stems are spun into thread
which makes linens for bed;
we make linseed oil and eat flax seeds.