A pair of little gilded shoes: commission, cost, and meaning in Renaissance footwear.
This article focuses on women's luxury footwear to examine issues of economic, material, and familial life in Renaissance Italy. It uses graphic work by Albrecht Dürer to explore footwear design, and draw from disparate sources to propose a new method for evaluating its cost. The article argues that sumptuous footwear was available for a range of prices that are not reflected in surviving payment records, and that it was largely less expensive than moralists and legislators implied. In conclusion, it employs Minerbetti documentation to consider the role particular shoes may have played in developing personal subjectivity.
Univ. of Sussex.
Michelle
M
O'Malley
D000884:Anthropology, Cultural / Q000193:education / Q000266:history; D003020:Clothing / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history / Q000523:psychology; D003132:Commerce / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education / Q000266:history; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049669:History, 16th Century; D007558:Italy / Q000208:ethnology; D008019:Life Style / Q000208:ethnology; D008393:Marriage / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history / Q000523:psychology; D054526:Men's Health / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history; D011996:Records / Q000191:economics; D012775:Shoes / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history; D012923:Social Class / Q000266:history; D012933:Social Identification; D012945:Social Values / Q000208:ethnology; D018454:Spouses / Q000193:education / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history / Q000523:psychology; D013783:Textile Industry / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education / Q000266:history; D013784:Textiles / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history; D016387:Women's Health / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history