The Wooden Shoes
1884 - 1885
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
12; 64; 92
About this artwork
Schenking van de heer en mevrouw Drucker-Fraser, Montreux
Art Historical Context
**The Wooden Shoes** by George Hendrik Breitner1884–1885) invites visitors into the everyday world of late 19th-century Netherlands. This oil on canvas painting, measuring 92 × 64 cm, captures a humble subject—traditional wooden clogs (klompen)— of the Dutch working class. Housed in the Rijksmuseum, it generously donated by Mr. and Mrs. Drucker-Fr from Montreux, preserving a slice of social history for future generations. Breitner a leading figure among the Amsterdam Impressionists, blended Realism with loose, vibrant brushwork inspired by French contemporaries like Manet. His focus on urban ...
About the Artist
George Hendrik Breitner · 1857–1923
In the early 1880s, he and Vincent van Gogh painted the residents of the working class neighborhoods of The Hague and in the province of Drenthe. Breitner moved to Amsterdam in 1886, where he became the leading painter of the Amsterdam Impressionists, documenting the urban life of Amsterdam and its residents. Comment on works: Landscapes; Views