Van Gogh often chose very unusual objects for still life. Such a plot, like old shoes, found embodiment on six canvases, which made up a whole series. One of the acquaintances of Van Gogh recalled how the artist was specifically looking for a flea market old worn shoes.
The boots depicted in this picture were previously owned by some worker. When Van Gogh acquired them, they were old and worn, but they had a fairly clean and neat appearance. Waiting for it to rain, Van Gogh dressed them and went to walk through the dirty city streets. Shoe-strewn shoes seemed to the artist worthy plot, and he began to still life.
Perhaps the old shoes served for Van Gogh as the embodiment of the hard work of ordinary people. The life of peasants and workers inspired the artist, giving him an endless number of themes and subjects for paintings.
Van Gogh depicts old dirty shoes with all truthfulness and directness, without the slightest desire to romanticize and embellish the plot. The volumes of worn-out shoes are modeled by hard black shadows, and the whole picture is written in almost the same color. As if the drooping outlines of shoes emphasize their “fatigue” and worthlessness.
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