The Art of the Shoe. Marie-Josèphe Bossan

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СКАЧАТЬ the export of French style throughout Europe. The fragile eschappins of the Renaissance began to disappear during the reign of Henry IV (1553–1610), replaced by sturdy shoes whose uppers slightly exceeded the sole. The toe of 17th-century shoes, at first rounded, became square under Louis XIII (1601–1643). All shoes of the period revealed side openings. The method of fastening the shoe on top was hidden by a buckle or large bow. But the greatest novelty of the period was the heel, which imparted men and women with a form of bearing that would become the customary posture of European courts in the 17th century.

      The new 17th-century shoe had an opening between the heel and the sole, from which it acquired the name soulier à pont-levis (raised bridge shoe). It was also called the soulier à cric (referring to a jack), a French onomatopoeia associated with the sound one made when walking in the shoe, according to Agrippa d’Aubigné’s pamphlet (1552–1630), Le Baron de Fenestre. Around 1640, shoe length exceeded the foot, but the square toe was retained. Early in the 17th century, Henri IV sent a tanner named Roze to Hungary to study their method of leather preparation. His return heralded the rebirth of the Hungarian leather craftsmen and they began producing a soft leather used for boot making that clinged to the calf and the thigh. In boot making, the boot’s over foot, was held by a soulette, which was attached under the foot and held the spur. After 1608, when boots were permitted at court, salons, and balls, the spur was covered with a piece of cloth to prevent damage to ladies’ dresses.

      Beginning in 1620, boots called bottes à entonnoir or bottes à chaudron (caldron boots) could be pulled up over the knee for horseback riding, or allowed to fall around the calf for other occasions. The purely utilitarian heel was positioned under the boot to better support the foot in stirrups. Special fabric boot stockings decorated with lace were worn to preserve the silk ones. Boot stockings were worn with entonnoir boots, which had the disadvantage of becoming a receptacle for water when worn in inclement weather. Lazzarines and ladrines were shorter, lighter boots with an ample cuff that were very popular during the reign of Louis XIII. But boots began to disappear from the salons and from court during the reign of Louis XIV (1638–1715), although they were still worn for hunting and in war. Even the heavy boot worn by soldiers until the beginning of the 19th century was gradually replaced in elegant surroundings by a softer version. In 1663, a shoemaker named Nicolas Lestage, established in Bordeaux under the trade name Loup Botté, presented the king with a pair of seamless boots. The shoemaker’s masterpiece earned him great fame and prestige, including a coat of arms that contained a gold boot, a gold crown, and the lily of the house of France, but his trade secret would only be revealed much later: he worked from the skin of a calf’s foot that remained intact. At Versailles, the royal residence since 1678, Louis XIV wore mules tended by the first valet during the ceremonial rising required by rituals of etiquette. The king’s mules became the property of the outgoing chamberlain or the valet at the end of the year. A number of developments in footwear took place during the reign of Louis XIV: lateral openings were eliminated from shoes and wooden heels became the province of a specialized craftsman called le talonnier (heelpiece maker). The Sun King had his own heels trimmed in red leather and his courtiers hastened to imitate him. Red heels remained the mark of aristocratic privileges until the French Revolution, and were only worn by nobles admitted to the court. The height of these heels was noted as a symbol of society’s vanity in a letter written to Cardinal Montalto by the disparaging courtier Marigny: “I wear pointed shoes with a pad under the heel making me high enough to aspire to the title Royal Highness.”

      46. Hiacynthe Rigaud. Louis XIV, 1701. Canvas, 277 x 194 cm. Louvre Museum, Paris.

      47. Anonymous. The Count of Toulouse Dressed as a Novice of the Holy Spirit, around 1694. Condé Museum, Chantilly.

      48. Woman’s shoe in blue leather with decoration embroidered in silver. Italy, 17th century. International Shoe Museum, Romans.

      Jean de la Fontaine (1621–1695) was well aware of the dilemma women faced walking on awkward high heels. In his fable called The Milkmaid and the Jug of Milk, he has Perrette the milkmaid wear flats so that she can take big steps, move with greater agility, and get to town without incident. Around 1652, the fashion was pointed shoes; later they became square. Women’s shoes were based on masculine forms, but always utilized more refined materials, primarily silk brocade, velvet, and brocart, a rich silk brocade sewn with silver and gold thread. Leather on women’s shoes was sometimes trimmed with fine silk embroidery. Overshoes called galoches were worn to protect these smart-looking and delicate shoes from muddy streets. Some shoes exhibited a unique feature whereby the quarter terminated with two tabs attached to the throat of the shoe with a buckle. The throat lay as a flap over the top of the shoe; in French it was called the oreillle.

      These shoes were originally decorated with a large ornament made out of two ribbon loops called ailes de moulin à vent, or windmill sails. This was the look Molière (1622–1673) derided in The School for Husbands when Sganarelle Scoffs, “Those little ribboned shoes make you look like you have big feathery pigeon feet.”

      Between 1670 and 1680, buckles embedded with a combination of real and fake pearls and diamonds replaced bows on tops of shoes. Unembellished bronze buckles were worn during mourning. Buckles were stored in jewelry boxes and adapted for use on different shoes. Children’s shoes were smaller versions of adult models. Children of the wealthy wore shoes made of tripe blance, a type of wool velour.

      Shoes worn by the lower classes exhibited little development. The masses wore wooded clogs or big leather shoes until they were completely deteriorated. Examples are depicted in paintings of the period by the Le Nain Brothers.

      49. Coat of arms granted by Louis XIV to his standard shoemaker, Master Nicolas Lestage, inventor of the incomparable boot without seams.

      50. Woman’s shoe. Italy, 17th century. International Shoe Museum, Romans.

      51. Woman’s shoe with its protective clog. Louis XIV period, 17th century. The fragility of these shoes necessitates the wearing of protective clogs to walk outside or face muddy grounds. The protective clog has a notch to place the heel. International Shoe Museum, Romans.

      52. Woman’s shoe in damask embroidered with threads of gold and silver. Louis XIV period, 17th century. International Shoe Museum, Romans.

      53. Le Brun, The Chancellor Séguier, 295 x 351cm, The Louvre, Paris.

      54. Woman’s mules. Around 1720–1730. Weissenfels Museum, with the authorization of Irmgard Sedler.

      55. François Boucher. La Toilette, 1742. Oil on canvas. 52.5 x 65.5 cm. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Madrid.

      18th century

      At the beginning of the 18th-century, France still held sway over the world of elegance.

      From the Regency to the French Revolution (1715–1789), there was little variation in shoe shapes. The toe could be round or pointed and was sometimes raised, but never square. A heel was named after Louis XV le Bien-Aimé (1710–1774). Elegant ladies favored two different styles: the mule for indoors and high-heeled shoes for more formal outfits. Mules with heels of variable height had uppers of white leather, СКАЧАТЬ