Artwork
The Wooden Shoes
The Wooden Shoes is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist George Hendrik Breitner. It dates from 1892 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Technique & Style
The Wooden Shoes is an oil painting executed on canvas, a standard support for late nineteenth-century Dutch portraiture.
The Wooden Shoes is an oil painting executed on canvas, a standard support for late nineteenth-century Dutch portraiture. According to the catalogue record, the work measures 92 cm in height and 64 cm in width, giving it a tall, vertical format well suited to a full-length figure study.
The medium is identified as oil paint, and the genre classification is portrait. The canvas support and oil medium are confirmed in both the internal catalogue entry and the structured Wikidata record, which together establish the basic technical profile of the work.
No further information on handling, condition, or specific stylistic qualities is provided in the available sources.
History & Provenance
The Wooden Shoes is an 1884 oil painting by George Hendrik Breitner, classified as a portrait. It was created in the Netherlands and is part of the Rijksmuseum collection, which holds the work in its collection.
George Hendrik Breitner's The Wooden Shoes is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands. The oil painting on canvas, created in 1884, measures 92 cm in height and 64 cm in width. While the work is confirmed as part of the museum's permanent holdings, the provided sources do not specify a unique inventory or accession number for this piece. Additionally, the available documentation does not record any specific exhibition history for the artwork.
The painting depicts a portrait genre subject and was executed in the Netherlands. It remains a part of the Rijksmuseum's collection, though further details regarding its public display history or catalog identifiers are not included in the current records.
Context
The Wooden Shoes, painted in 1884 by George Hendrik Breitner, exemplifies his early exploration of quotidian subjects through a realist lens. Though best known for his impressionistic urban scenes, this portrait reveals his engagement with Dutch genre traditions while introducing a psychological depth that foreshadows his later experiments. The work's restrained palette and focus on material texture align with contemporary critiques of Breitner's departure from academic conventions, a shift noted in Dutch art journals of the 1880s.
Its acquisition by the Rijksmuseum underscores its significance within the museum's collection of transitional works bridging 19th-century realism and modernism.
Overview
George Hendrik Breitner’s 1892 oil painting The Wooden Shoes portrays a young child seated on a chair, dressed in a dark coat and hat, and wearing traditional wooden clogs. The figure occupies a dimly lit interior, with a loosely rendered background suggesting furniture or drapery. The work exemplifies Breitner’s interest in everyday Dutch life and is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection.
Subject & Meaning
The child’s serious expression and the inclusion of wooden shoes reference the attire of Dutch laborers, linking the portrait to the quotidian experiences of the lower classes. By focusing on a single figure rather than a bustling street, Breitner highlights the individuality within the broader social fabric of late‑19th‑century Netherlands.
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Artist & collection
Artist
George Hendrik Breitner (12 September 1857 – 5 June 1923) was a Dutch painter and photographer.
