Dates: Born, 1814; died, 1875.
The story of the picture. When the artist, Jean François Millet, was a little boy he lived in the country where nearly all the people knew how to churn and make their own butter. No doubt he often watched his grandmother churn and helped her, too. He must have liked to see her pour the milk into the big pans, which she then set away in a cool place until all the cream had come to the top. Then she would skim the cream from the milk, put it into the big wooden churn, and begin to work the churning rod up and down, up and down, until her arms grew so tired that she was glad to rest them a while and let him churn.
At the end of the rod inside the churn are two boards fastened crosswise which work the cream into butter as the rod is moved up and down. The churn in the picture has a cover with a hole in the center for the handle, and as soon as the cream begins to thicken some of it works up with the rod to the top of the churn. We can see it in the picture. This cream must be what the cat smells and wants. If you have ever watched a cat sniffing at something it likes, you will know right away what the cat in the picture is doing. She rubs against the woman’s dress as a gentle reminder that she is there, and would very much like to have some cream. If the woman is called away for a few moments she had better take the cat with her or I fear Puss will not wait to be served.
A hen looks in at the open door, curious to know what is going on. The woman continues her churning. She must churn until the butter comes, which may be in twenty minutes or an hour, depending upon the condition of the cream. Then the butter will be salted and prepared for the table.
Many farmers now send their milk to the creameries, where it is made into butter. In these days of cream separators and machinery of all kinds, buttermaking has ceased to be the difficult task that it once was.
Butter has not always been used for the table as we use it now. We read that, long ago, the Romans used it only as an ointment and in medicine. The people of India used it to anoint the wounds of their elephants. The Greeks knew very little about it, and considered its odor very disagreeable. One writer (Plutarch) tells us of a visit which a great Spartan lady paid to the wife of an important official, when the one smelled so strongly of sweet ointment and the other of butter that they could not endure each other. People in those days used olive oil in place of butter and this must have satisfied their tastes as well as butter does ours.
This picture is often called “The Buttermaker.” Like all of Millet’s pictures, it is a picture of work. The woman looks strong and capable, and willing to do each task as it comes to her. Farther back in the room we can see a bench upon which are placed the great jars of milk. The stone floor and the half-darkened room suggest a cool, comfortable place in which to work on a hot summer day. The woman is dressed like all the French peasants, a handkerchief wound around her head, and wearing those wooden shoes which everybody wore, even the little children. The broom resting against the bench suggests another task when this one is finished.
The strong light in the left-hand side of the picture must come from some window near by, for that side of the woman’s face and dress, and of the churn and handle, is brightly lighted. Most of the woman’s face, however, is indistinct, for Millet did not consider the features important and usually painted his faces in shadow. It is in what the men and women are doing and how they do it that he wished to interest us.
Questions to help the pupil understand the picture. How did Millet know so much about churning butter? How did his grandmother make butter? Describe the churn. What is at the end of the rod inside the churn? What can you see on the top of this churn? What does the cat want? How does she ask for it? How long must the woman churn? How is the butter prepared for the table? Where is most of our butter made to-day? How is it churned? How did the Romans use butter? the people of India? the Greeks? Tell about the visit of the Spartan lady. What did people use instead of butter? What is this picture sometimes called? What are the figures in most of Millet’s pictures doing? How is this woman dressed? Why did Millet paint most of her face indistinctly? What did he consider important? Where does the light come from?
To the Teacher: Have a child pose as if churning. An ordinary pail or the waste-paper basket with a broom or mop handle will do very well for the churn. If possible, have the child stand on a platform or table. The teacher’s apron may be worn, but the idea is to represent the action,—the bent head, curve of shoulders, position of arms, and general feeling of the figure. Use brush and ink for silhouette picture, or charcoal and manila paper.