The Wooden Shoes ‘ 1768

The Wooden Shoes ‘ 1768

             The Wooden Shoes, produced in 1768 by François Boucher is one of the landmark paintings of the 18^th century. François Bouche was a French painter, born 29^th September 1703. He died on 30^th May 1770. His works were predominantly based on the Rococo style. François Boucher is renowned for his voluptuous and idyllic works, mostly on classical themes, pastoral themes, and decorative allegories (Hyde at al., 12). He is widely regarded as the most successful decorative artist and painter of the 18^th century. François Bouche learned his skills in painting from Nicolas Boucher, a lesser-known painter, and his biological father. François Boucher won several awards for his outstanding works of art. A good example is the elite Grand Prix de Rome. One of the most outstanding features of his pieces of art is that they displayed a definitive style of eroticism, which is a huge deviation from the traditional rural innocence style. Generally, François Boucher was a varied draftsman and a prolific painter. The Wooden shoe canvas, dated 1768 epitomizes the use of art to show the themes of romance and eroticism.

The French painter, François Boucher was the most celebrated painter of the Rococo style. He was the king of art during the reign of King Louis XV( Ruch et al., 496). In fact, François Boucher was the King’s principal painter, and as such, he was closely affiliated to the Royal Academy of Painting (Jacoby et al., 43). In all European aristocracy, François Boucher is regarded as the key player in the spread of the Rococo style of art. In most European countries at that time, the Rococo style was considered a French style, and an epitome of aesthetic refinement. Ideally, he was the best representative of French art and paintings. To show how he rapidly rose the ranks in the French painting industry, as at 1723, when he was still a teenager, François Boucher, was given permission to exhibit his artworks at the royal academy. In 1734, he was given full membership the Royal Academy, which proved to be the turning point for his painting career, which was successful by all measures( Laing et al., 14). Most of François Boucher’s paintings were decorations and portraits for placement on palaces, representing the genre scenes and ancient mythology. This led to his conferment by the king of France as one of his artists. When Marquise de Pompadour died in 1764, he was named the first painter of the king, which was an incredible feat at that time (Cailleux, 1). Despite his successes in the art industry, he was hugely criticized for his preference for erotic subjects, frivolous subjects, and generally the lack of social responsibility. In the latter stages of his career, François Boucher suffered a major blow as his influence began to wane, thanks to the emerging of neoclassical art.

François Boucher is known for many of his erotic and romantic pieces of art. The Wooden Shoes canvas is one of these. Produced in 1768, the Wooden Shoes canvas perfectly defines the theme of romance. This painting is on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada. At first glance, we see two lovers, seemingly enjoying an erotic moment in a natural landscape. The physical context of the Wooden Shoes canvas is significant in supporting the theme of romance and eroticism. Its design in such a manner that it is wholly placed in a natural context is significant. Whether it is by design 9r pure coincidence, the canvas shows the two lovers holding some beautiful flowers, which epitomizes love even in the contemporary world. This is stunning given that the painting was produced in the 17^th century when most of the civilizations we see today did not exist. Therefore, the background present just behind the paintings of the two lovers is key in bringing out the theme 9f romance in the paintings.

One of the most outstanding features of the Wooden Shoes canvas, which mostly goes unnoticed by many viewers is the wooden shoes worn by the two lovers. This is a very subtle choice for the artist, but keen viewers will easily identify it just by paying attention to the title of the canvas. The wooden shoes are also crossed to each other which is a key factor in assessing the success of the themes shown in the painting. Crossing the shoes is a sign of twinning bodies, which represents love and romance. In addition, the choice to cross them can be taken to reveal that the society at that time regarded love as an affair of two opposite genders. Some artists argue that François Boucher used this feature to aim a subtle dig at the proponents of absolute liberty in the choices of love. Also, the choice of a natural scene as the perfect point for the two lovers to show romance shows that François Boucher believed that love and romance are natural and that the biblical teachings on marriage should be considered when discussing issues of love and romance. In general, he was intertwining religion with the social issues brought about by the human civilizations at that time.

From the canvas, it is evident that the two lovers displayed hold cherries in their hands. This is a symbol of eroticism and sexual encounter. As it is with most of the paintings by François Boucher, he deviates from the traditional way of not revealing love or romance in public. In a real sense, he wants to show that social change is inevitable, and this is what characterizes the contemporary world. In the time he was producing this canvas, the industrial revolution was taking shape in Europe and there were far-reaching changes in the social setups at that time. Cities began to grow, and many people of different social backgrounds were being brought together, as people searched for better opportunities in the emerging metropolis. Essentially, a viewer of the canvas who is keen enough will realize that the two lovers show a suggestive emotion as they share the cherries under the natural tree. Arguably, the tendency of François Boucher to deviate from the traditional ways at that time with regard to social values must have contributed to his downfall as neo-classical art took over. This shows that social changes have casualties – just like in the contemporary world nit all segments of the population will be apprehensive of a particular change in social issues. Nevertheless, François Boucher succeeded in supporting the theme of romance in the canvas.

Conclusively, François Boucher succeeds greatly in developing the themes of romance and eroticism, without necessarily showing the two lovers doing the act, as many would think of anything romantic or erotic. It is only after paying attention to the fine details that you will conclude that the two are lovers deeply engaged in love. A good example is the crossed wooden shoes, which most viewers don not recognize at first glance. The crossing of the wooden shoes is a sign of twining bodies, which in real-world is an act of romance. Also, the natural physical content of the canvas reveals not only the natural importance of love but the social changes that were taking shape at the time François Boucher produced the canvas. The industrial revolution and some forms of civilization were taking shape, and hence people had different views on issues related to love. In reality, his failure to openly depict the act of romance and love shows that he was still conservative and considerate of some social teachings, mostly from the Bible. However, he also subtly criticized those who did not believe romance is natural and supposed to be between people of the opposite gender. Generally, François Boucher was a great painter and many of  his works are still relevant in the contemporary world

Bibliography

Cailleux, Jean. “François Boucher-The King’s First Painter.” The Burlington Magazine (1964): i-vi.

Hyde, Melissa Lee, and François Boucher. Making up the rococo: François Boucher and his critics. Getty Publications, 2006.

Jacoby, Beverly Schreiber. “A landscape drawing by François Boucher after Domenico Campagnola.” Master Drawings (1979): 261-322.

Laing, Alastair, Pierre Rosenberg, and François Boucher. The Drawings of François Boucher. Scala Books, 2003.

Ruch, John E. “An Album of Early Drawings by François Boucher.” The Burlington Magazine (1964): 496-500.