A Pair of Shoes Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

A description of Vincent van Gogh’s painting The Shoes

It took Van Gogh several weeks to find the right shoes for his painting and one day he returned from the market and brought them home--abandoned but still in good condition, repaired before being sold and put in good order, they had probably previously belonged to a workman.

For a while they just stood in a corner of the workshop and seemed to take up space. But then it rained, so Van Gogh put them on (even though they were too big for him) and took a long walk in the rain, unafraid of any mud, wading in puddles and perhaps even enjoying the walk. When he got home, he put the clogs on the floor and decided that now they were ready to be transferred to the canvas.

"Clogs" is a very wet painting that appears to be raining. A wet sidewalk, a curled dry leaf, barely marked circles scattered by the drops, and in the middle of a real puddle are two clogs, the kind worn by workers. They are obviously old, shapeless, and belong, in a good way, in a landfill. But despite this, they retain some sad dignity of a thing - a thing that has served well, that has served its purpose, and, though worn out, can still serve an undemanding person.

When you look at "Shoes", involuntarily recall the fate of Van Gogh - an unsettled vagabond who could not find peace in life. His hometown did not receive him and he was often ridiculed, drank, had a reputation as a complete failure, even untalented. He often left Paris in search of inspiration and solace, but did not find it, and came back - with new paintings that no one bought, with new ideas that no one wanted.

Like the shoes from a painting, he could have been useful, and not insignificant, but instead he spent his entire life on the road, in the wet mud, in the rain, not really needed by anyone.