“Marche et Démarche” a history of the shoe November 7 – February 23, 2020

4. Sandale pour femme — Vers 1942, Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs © MAD Paris Photo : Hugues Dubois

Paire de botte, vers 1935, Paris, collection Falbalas © MAD Paris / Photo: Hugues Dubois

6. Iris van Herpen et Jólan van der Wiel — Chaussure « Magnetic Motion », collection prêt- à-porter printemps-été 2015, Amsterdam, Iris Van Herpen © MAD Paris Photo : Hugues Dubois

7. Benoit Méléard — Chaussure « Hommage à Calder », collection « O », 1999, Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs © MAD Paris Photo : Hugues Dubois

5. Escarpin pour Juliette Récamier — 1795-1810, Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs © MAD Paris Photo : Hugues Dubois

3. Chaussures pour femme — Vers 1630, Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs © MAD Paris Photo : Jean Tholance

2. Chaussure de Marie- Antoinette — 1792, Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs © MAD Paris Photo : Christophe Dellière

1. Iris Schieferstein — Horseshoes, 2006 Berlin, Iris Schieferstein © MAD Paris Photo : Hugues Dubois

Dear Shaded Viewers,

The exhibition “Marche et démarche” questions the status of the shoe as an indispensable accessory of everyday life by visiting the different ways of walking from the Middle Ages to today, both in the West and in non-European cultures. How do women, men and children walk through time, cultures, and social groups?

The theme of this exhibition was born during the study of a shoe worn by Marie-Antoinette in 1792 which was in the museum’s collections. The shoe measured 21 cm long and 5 cm wide. The question that arose was how could a 37 year old woman slip her foot into such a small shoe? Research in the texts of the period-chronicles, memoirs, novels-reveals that in the eighteenth century the ladies of the aristocracy, then the nineteenth century walked very little and that their mobility was controlled and that the urban universe was hostile to them.

Later,

Diane