Study for Flax Barn in Laren

In his work Flax Barn in Laren Max Liebermann depicts a pre-industrial mode of spinning even though this production process was, at the time, already adapted to industrial manufacturing. Here, women and children spin prepared flax into raw yarn. This is accomplished by a process that combines methods from the classical cottage industry and a true factory. Twelve women twist the flax into thread and onto spools, employing spinning wheels powered by a row of children seated along the window wall. Two spinners work with each spinning wheel. Although spinning machines had been invented, old technologies were applied if cheap labor was available, as was the case with women and children in Holland.

Max Liebermann was a renowned German painter and an early adherent to Impressionism in Germany. He was trained at, named to, and later became the president of the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin. The painting displayed here is a study for the final painting, which now hangs in the Berlin National gallery. When it was first unveiled to the public, Flax Barn in Laren was roundly criticized for its faithful depiction of child labor. Although a widespread phenomenon, this was a subject largely ignored; omitted from the genre painting of the day. While Liebermann often offered social commentary in his work, he later argued against the blending of art and politics.