Vittore Carpaccio, Due dame Veneziane - Mysterious Chopines

This painting of two Venetian ladies by Carpaccio is awesome on so many different levels.

But today I want to draw your attention to just one thing – those insane red shoes on the left. These sky-high stylish platforms were incredibly popular during the Renaissance in most Italian cities.

They were called chopines and they had a light wooden base, were generally covered with variety of materials like leather, silk brocade or velvet and were often beautifully decorated with lace and stones. Around the time the Venetian ladies were painted, chopines were reaching up to 24 centimeters in height.

The higher the better it was generally thought by Renaissance women – the height generally corresponded to class and status.

The understated red pair in the painting has no decoration but does have lacing.

Who do they belong to? Clearly not to the woman leaning on a balustrade and holding a handkerchief - we can see the outline of her chopines under her green skirt. They could belong to the second lady, who is entertaining two dogs at the same time, while looking exceedingly bored. They do match her luxurious red velvet dress. But why are they so far away from her?

I can only presume that high heels were just as much of a pain in the 15th century as they are today. If you get an opportunity to take them off, you do so without hesitation. You go up to the balustrade, pop your platforms off, waddle back to your seat barefoot and stretch your tired, sore feet, hidden under your massive skirts.

Images:

Vittore Carpaccio, Due dame Veneziane, c 1495, Museo Correr, Venezia

Chopines, circa 1580-1620, Courtesy the Bata Shoe Museum

Chopines, ca. 1600, Metropolitan Museum of Art Chopines, 1590–1610, Metropolitan Museum of Art Late 17th–early 18th century. Silk cut velvet with gilt-metal lace trim and linen lining, silk satin ribbon, metallic woven trim, metal nails, wood, and leather; The Museum of Fine Arts Boston