Pair of shoes with straps c. 1939

These are a pair of shoes with straps by A. van Goethem. These aren't painted, but there is still a sort of mark-making process visible in the fabrication, like a three-dimensional drawing in glossy black leather. The texture of the leather mimics a reptile's skin, each scale is picked out with high shine. The process of making these shoes must have been so physical, stretching and shaping the material over a last to form these sculptural shapes. The shiny black material reflects the light in a way that makes you notice the form of the shoes, the heel is slender but sturdy, and the straps elegantly bisect the foot. There is an exchange of ideas going on here between the natural and the artificial. These shoes reference a natural material, while being completely constructed. I am reminded of the paintings of Philip Guston, who embraced a kind of cartoonish figuration in his later work. Like him, these shoes aren't trying to trick anyone, instead, they offer a commentary on the nature of representation itself.