ticketsMember | Make a donation

Chopines

ca. 1600
Not on view
The high platform shoes known as chopines came into fashion in Venice in the sixteenth century. Awkward yet practical, they served to keep the wearer's precariously perched feet from getting wet or soiled in the city's perpetually damp byways and also to signal her elevated social status. It was once thought that very high chopines, as much as twenty inches, were worn by courtesans to establish a highly visible public profile. Like expensive jewels and silk gowns, chopines were favored both by patrician women and the successful courtesans who contrived to emulate their appearance by donning expensive finery. Such fancy footwear does not unequivocally signal that its owner was a courtesan, but the chopines-shod woman in Pietro Bertelli's erotic flap print (55.503.30) undoubtedly represents that niche of society.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Chopines
  • Date: ca. 1600
  • Culture: Italian
  • Medium: leather, silk, wood
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Irene Lewisohn Bequest, 1973
  • Object Number: 1973.114.4a, b
  • Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Shoes, silk, leather, French
Shoes
French
1690–1700
Coat, Paul Poiret French, silk, wool, fur, leather, French
Coat
Paul Poiret
ca. 1919
Gloves, leather, French
Gloves
French
1824
Coatdress, André Courrèges French, wool, silk, French
Coatdress
André Courrèges
1965
Wedding ensemble, Mainbocher French and American, silk, leather, straw, coq feathers, French
Wedding ensemble
Mainbocher
1937

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.