A beautiful illusion

Delighting in the wealth of detail, Wilhelm Hasemann painted this idyllic scene in 1901. With the spinning wheels tempting viewers to forget the triumphal rise of a modern textile industry in European cities, rural life seems imbued with a feeling of timelessness.

Even around 1900 in the depth of the Black Forest, communal flax spinning had long ceased to reflect the typical reality of women’s lives. This picture, though, was more designed to appeal to the urban middle-class with their romanticised view of farming life.

At a time of social unrest, many were attracted not just by the scene’s ostensible simplicity and naturalness, but also by its reassuringly peaceful social order. The women’s festive attire, commonly worn for such events as Sunday churchgoing, casts a veil over the drudgery of their work.

Love of his home region

Hasemann was born and grew up in Mühlberg an der Elbe in Brandenburg. As a teenager, he worked for some years for his father in his mechanic’s workshop. After deciding to study art, Hasemann spent time at art schools in Berlin and Dresden as well as the Baden Grand Ducal Art School in Karlsruhe.

In 1880, the Cotta Publishing House asked Hasemann to illustrate Berthold Auerbach’s novella Die Frau Professorin (The Professor’s Wife). This chance commission first led Hasemann to visit the Black Forest village of Gutach, the origin of the traditional Bollenhut headdress with its red pompoms.

Hasemann went on to spend much of his life in Gutach, and also founded an artists’ colony there. Although Hasemann may have been a newcomer in the village, he proved highly influential in creating the image of Black Forest life and people still prevalent abroad today.

Together with his wife Luise, he actively encouraged cultural life in the small village, aiming to keep alive local customs and cultivate the wearing of traditional costumes. Luise became a member of the society for traditional costumes and even learnt how to spin. On the long winter evenings, through her women’s association, she also organised handicraft meetings similar to this scene.

As a result, she was a knowledgeable model for her husband’s painting of a Black Forest spinning room. To avoid having to paint this large picture on site in the farmhouse, he also made use of photographs of the entire group as well as individual figures. This allowed him to work up the painting in his studio. There, he also integrated his studio window into the architecture of the spinning room.