V76: A Late Elizabethan Portrait…with Shoes

It’s busy times here at ADHQ, so I’ll make today’s post quick.

This is one of my favorite portraits, a lady thought to be Vere Egerton, Mrs William Booth, attributed to Robert Peake (1541-1619).

I love her mix of textures and colors – like, that jacket totally doesn’t go with that skirt, but it does! The length of the jacket is also quite interesting, as well as the relatively narrow shape of the skirt, but what I find most intriguing about this image is her shoes.

I’ve got more for you on the (very brief) history of Elizabethan footwear, later.  For now, I’ll leave you with Vere.

2 Comments

  • Anonymous

    March 17, 2012 at 1:36 PM

    I wonder how accurate that painting is. She has her arm resting on the sofa armrest…but she is standing. And the sofa looks like it is tilted so much you'd slide out of it if you sat on it. The length of the jacket and narrowness of the skirt may be a case of artist representation. (Hope my perseptions don't spoil your liking of this painting. Art is very subjective!)

    The shoe is cute. I wonder if it is a sandle and she is wearing black stockings or if it is a two tone shoe. Ohh, wait…maybe that dark part is a honking big bow. I see it as a bow when I look at the shoe on the left. I like the bow idea a lot!

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