Shoes

Van Gogh painted this still life of a pair of worn work boots in Paris in the autumn of 1886. He was 33 and living with his brother Theo in Montmartre, studying color and light after two years in the Netherlands painting peasants and potatoes. A pair of unlaced boots sits on a bare floor, the leather creased and dark with use. The boots are upright, leaning slightly, their laces trailing. The floor is painted in quick strokes of brown and grey, with a strip of lighter wall behind. The canvas is small, roughly 15 by 18 inches, landscape format. The colors are muted: browns, blacks, and the dull red of the leather, with a touch of green in the shadows. Van Gogh bought the shoes at a flea market in Paris. An acquaintance described how he walked them through the mud before he painted them, to make them look worn enough. He painted several versions of this subject between 1886 and 1887. This one is in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Paris in 1886 was the center of the art world. Van Gogh arrived from Antwerp in March and discovered the Impressionists at the last group exhibition. He dropped his dark Dutch palette and started painting with brighter colors. The shoe paintings belong to his first months in Paris, before the color broke through completely. They are the last of his earth-toned work. Oil on canvas, 37.5 by 45 centimeters. Van Gogh painted this over another picture, a view from Theo's apartment. He reused canvases to save money. The brushwork is thick and direct, with the boots built in heavy strokes of brown and black. This painting works in an entryway, study, or bedroom. The dark palette and small scale suit a room with wood floors, leather furniture, or warm lighting. The 11x14 framed version in a black frame is the right size for most spaces. The painting is in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, accession number s0011V1962. This is a public domain artwork, sourced from Wikimedia Commons. We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 24x36 inches, framed or unframed. The image is printed at full resolution with no cropping.