Die Flachsbrecherin

Anton Mauve's 'Die Flachsbrecherin' (The Flax Breaker, 1886) depicts a woman engaged in the traditional labor of breaking flax — the process of crushing the dried flax plant to separate the fiber from the woody stem, a laborious step in the production of linen that had been performed by rural women for centuries. Mauve's engagement with traditional agricultural labor subjects alongside his primary sheep subjects reflected his broad sympathy with the rural working world. The flax-breaking woman placed an ancient female labor within his typically restrained, tonally unified pictorial world.

Mauve renders the flax-breaking figure with his characteristic tonal restraint and warm, silvery palette — the woman's working posture and the specific physical action of flax breaking depicted with his typical combination of observational accuracy and atmospheric unity. His handling of the woman's figure within the landscape or interior setting maintains the tonal harmony that was his most consistent formal achievement. The specific implements of flax breaking (the brake or crushing device) are depicted with documentary accuracy.