Schoenenverkoper 1660

This print, Schoenenverkoper, was made by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli, likely in the late 17th or early 18th century. Look at the lines that delineate the figure of the shoe vendor. Note the stark contrast between the detailed etching of the man and the plain background. Consider the composition: the vendor, burdened with shoes slung over his shoulder, leans heavily on a walking stick, creating a diagonal line across the print. This line is echoed by the row of shoes hanging from the pole. What we have here is the interplay between the verticality of the man’s body and his support and the horizontal lines of the shoes. The image destabilizes any fixed notion of the labourer. The vendor almost seems to become one with the commodities he sells, blurring the lines between the vendor and his wares. It challenges traditional representations of labor by focusing on the physicality and perhaps even the absurdity of the vendor's position. It's a formal rendering of social commentary.