The Brewing

2023 · 50x53 cm, linocut A/p

In Medieval Europe, ale was not just an alcoholic drink, but the basis of the diet. Housewives cooked ale for the whole family for food; this was exclusively a woman's responsibility. The main source of income for a medieval woman was marriage, so single women had to find other ways. Thus, widows and unmarried girls began to sell homemade ale and open pubs. In England they were called "alewife", which can be interpreted as "married to beer". In my engraving “Brewing” I depicted the life of ordinary medieval brewers: an elderly widow and her young unmarried apprentice. Collected woman in a brewer's hat teaches a girl the art of brewing. Under their feet, a large and agile cat hunts for rats, which always appear in breweries, bakeries and other places where grain is stored.