After the horror and carnage of the First World War, the art world reacted by forging a new path – one that was based on a combination of both dreams and reality. This fusing of the conscious and unconscious minds would create an absolute or super-reality, also known as Surrealism.
Elsa Schiaparelli's Shoe Hat, created in 1937-38, is a perfect example of the Surrealist movement. It was made in collaboration with the artist Salvador Dali, one of the prime exponents of the movement. The idea for the Shoe Hat came from a drawing by Dali. This in turn evolved from a photograph taken by his wife Gala, in which he was wearing a woman's shoe on his head and another on his shoulder.
Schiaparelli often worked with Dali, creating amongst other things the Tear and Skeleton dresses, all housed in the V&A permanent collection. Why not have a look around the museum and see if you can find them?
The Shoe Hat is fashioned from blue wool felt with a fuchsia pink velvet heel. It was made to be worn with a black dress and jacket, embroidered with red lips said to be suggestive of the actress Mae West. Schiaparelli was designing movie costumes for West at the time.
The hat was captured for posterity in a photography by Georges Saad, published in the October 1937 issue of L’Officiel de la Mode et de la Couture, and Gala herself can be seen wearing it in a photo taken by André Maillet in 1938.
Several other versions of the Shoe Hat are in existence, made from black felt. They can be found in the Andrea Pfister Collection and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The original Dali sketch is located in the Union Française des Arts du Costume at the Musée de la Mode et du Textile in Paris.
If you would like to see more surrealist work and clothing created by Schiaparelli and Dali, you can find it here.
Before the advent of instant communication, the best way to reach people was through the mail. Scroll to see correspondence from notable figures around the world!
Frida Kahlo, one of Mexico's most beloved artists, was also a prolific writer of letters. She hand-wrote letters to friends, lovers, and relatives throughout her life, like the one addressed to Leon Trotsky painted here. This 1937 piece resides at NMWA in Washington DC.
Frida wrote this letter to her husband, the painter Diego Rivera, in 1940.
...and sealed it with a kiss.
Frédéric Chopin was a shooting star in the world of music, composing hundreds of pieces for piano in his brief 39 years. Maximilian Fajans created this lithograph in the decade after Chopin's death.
Chopin penned this letter to his pupil Marie de Rozières and said, "country-house life in high society is really very interesting. They have nothing like it on the continent."
Florence Nightingale, a British statistician and activist, laid the foundation for modern nursing. After a spiritual experience, she dedicated her life to helping people--caring for soldiers during the Crimean war, founding the first secular nursing school, and much more.
In this letter to her cousin Marianne Nicholson, she describes the vision which inspired her lifelong quest of service. You can read a transcript of the letter courtesy of Leeds Museums & Galleries.
Vincent van Gogh's storied life is well documented in his numerous letters to friends and relations, though the lion's share of the surviving correspondence is addressed to his brother Theo.
Van Gogh often included sketches with his letters, like this one written to Paul Gauguin. Do you recognize the painting it became? This letter from October of 1888 tells Gaugin of the "autumn splendors" he'd see on the way to Arles.
The Opéra Garnier was inaugurated in 1875 and its stage has seen some of the greatest Opera singers and ballet dancers, from Maria Callas to Rudolf Noureev, perform.
Its ceilings was decorated by Marc Chagall in 1964.
Move your mouse around to explore this staircase designed by architect Charles Garnier (who gave his name to the building).
Rising at 4,808 m above sea level, Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps, a chain of mountains in the South East of France. Explore the permanent snow of this natural jewel!
Marie Curie was a pioneer who devoted her entire career and life to science, discovering two radioactive elements along the way. Learn more about this incredible scientist.
Did you know Van Gogh lived in Arles, in the south of France, for a year? He even painted the room he stayed in, in what was to become one of his most famous works. Read through 10 Things You Might Not Know About Vincent van Gogh.
In the Orangerie Museum, you can explore the famous Water Lilies cycle by Claude Monet. Move your mouse around for a 360° view.
Did you know this French landmark was built in 2 years, 2 months and 5 days for the for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, a technical prowess for its time?
Now is your time to explore the scenic view of Paris: move your mouse around to take in the sights.
Set in the appartment where scientist Louis Pasteur spent the last 7 years of his life, the Musée Pasteur comemorates the life and research of the man responsible for finding the vaccine for rabbies.
Built by King of France François 1er in the 16th Century, Chambord is a jewel of Renaissance architecture.
Glimpse Albert Einstein's fascinating - sometimes funny - exchanges with great French mathematicians. These formative conversations would go on to shape his ground-breaking scientific work. Read the letters.
The Provence Region, in the South of France, is home to beautiful and fragrant lavender fields. The flowering season spans from mid-June to mid-August, but you can have a look online year-round!
The Chauvet cave, located in Ardèche, in the South of France, hosts some of the oldest works of art ever created: they are dated at 36, 000 years ago! The cave is not open to the public for preservation reasons, but you can explore it online.
The former hunting lodge of Louis XIII was transformed and extended by his son Louis XIV who installed here the Court and the government of France in 1682. Up until the French Revolution, a line of kings succeeded each other, each taking his turn to embellish the Palace. And now, the Palace is yours...
Click and move around the image to explore Le Nôtre's Garden.
This fossil crocodile is on display in the permanent exhibition of the Musée des Confluences in Lyon. This specimen called France its home 150 million years ago.
Located in the South of France, the Arène de Nîmes come straight from Roman times.
Gladiators used to roam this exceptionally well preserved amphitheater.
Palais de Tokyo was created in 2002: Its liveliness, joyfulness, and adventurous approach made Paris sit up and take notice. As an anti-museum par excellence, a rebellious undeveloped plot in the 16th arrondissement, a offbeat yet ambitious “palace”, a place for exchanges and surprises, it was the pioneer of a movement of reconciliation between the City of Light and contemporary art.
In 709, there was just a small church on this hill surrounded by the sea when the tide is high. Monasteries and abbeys were progressively added in the Middle Ages, and the Mont is now a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Situated in the very heart of Paris on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, this iconic building was built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900. It is particularly famous for its glass roof, the largest in Europe.
This ensemble represents the "little black dress," one of Chanel's most popular and enduring contributions to women's fashion.
The arts of Africa, Oceania, Asia, and the Americas are at the heart of this Museum inaugurated in 2006. Walk around its unique collections!
The Cité de la dentelle de Calais guides you through the history of lace, the precious textile that's an integral part of French tradition.
Who said street art was only for the streets? Dive into the collections of this Museum founded by Magda Danysz.
This instrument is Console studio 116c from the "Groupe de recherche musicale (GRM)" (Group of musical research). In 1967, it was top of the technology!
It's only fitting that a museum dedicated to cinema would have an impressive camera collective. Walk along the storage, and enjoy exhibitions on the seventh art.
Famous for its cliff and lighthouses (there are no other buildings on this wild peninsula), the Cap Fréhel is a scenic location in Britanny.
Continue your Tour de France