Notes about Van Gogh's painting of a pair of boots

This painting seems to speak about the way objects can become more than just an object, to embody an essence or trace. This painting seems more like a portrait, speaking of the person who wore the boots. The boots carry a narrative, yet the narrative is incomplete, we are left wondering who wore these boots, where they came from, what did they do, where did the boots walk? At first I thought perhaps they're like shadows, a memory of their wearer. But the way they're painted doesn't seem like a shadow, the paint has a physicality like wrinkled skin, this make them seem alive, telling a story of years of wear and tear. Yet they also tell a story of care and repair, the boots seem to glean and shine, as though they've been polished many times. It's interesting to look at the way they sit, in one way they seem to sit poised and expectant perhaps waiting for the return of their owner, yet also they seem to lean to one side as though tired and heavy. I am interested in the way an object, a pair of old boots, can embody very human characteristics, to speak about time, memory and narrative.