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Glasses in the 19th Century
One of the main events of the 19th century was the introduction of dioptric numbering of lenses in 1873. The appearance of glasses also changes. Pay attention to the strange design of the temples, the small "roundlets" of the glasses, which make this optical instrument sophisticated, even somewhat pretentious. The shape of glasses becomes more diverse.
The work of the American artist Rembrandt Peale gives an idea of what 19th-century glasses were like. His father, the American art critic and artist Charles Willson Peale, named most of his 17 children after great artists: Rembrandt, Titian, Rubens, Raphael, etc. The names proved prophetic. Rembrandt Peale is the author of portraits of Jefferson (the third US President) and Washington, which are currently exhibited in the White House.
Rembrandt Peale (1778–1860). Portrait of Rubens Peale.
Rembrandt Peale. Rubens Peale with a Geranium.
Rembrandt Peale. Self-Portrait.
The father of A. S. Pushkin’s wife, N. N. Goncharova, also wore glasses.
The lorgnette, which appeared back in the 15th century, became an essential attribute for women and gentlemen in the 19th century. Previously, there were rules of the game with a fan; now the code of the lorgnette game was added to them. No self-respecting dandy would allow himself to appear in society without a cane and a lorgnette.
Gold lorgnette with a built-in watch, created by the firm "Roussel & Fils" in 1860, decorated with diamonds and enamel.
A fashionable English women's magazine in 1889 suggests a lorgnette and a fan attached to the wrist by a chain as accessories for an evening dress.
The lorgnette on a chain from the portrait by J. A. D. Ingres is truly an ornament to a fashionable dress. The portrait was painted in 1826 and is currently in the Louvre (Paris).
The luxurious beauty Countess Cecilia Auersperg now "lives" in the National Gallery in Ljubljana (Slovenia). T. Josef painted the portrait of the countess in 1823 (1820?).
Ewelina Hańska, nee Countess Rzewuska (1801–1882), Polish landowner, wife of H. de Balzac, holds a folded lorgnette in her hands in the 1835 portrait by the artist F. G. Waldmüller.
Another beauty in the painting "Lady with a Lorgnette" by J. Borsos.
The glasses in the portrait by the Austrian artist G. Klimt are barely noticeable.
G. Klimt. Portrait of the Pianist Josef Pembaur. 1894.
The French artist L.-L. Boilly (1761–1845) is known as a master of genre painting during the period of the Revolution, Empire, and Restoration. Boilly worked in watercolor, engraving, and lithography techniques. The artist's work shows the influence of Rococo and sentimentalism art, and later of Empire style. Boilly was always distinguished by his meticulous depiction of everyday details and material environment. This is precisely what makes his paintings a valuable source of knowledge on the history of fashion and material culture, for example, eyewear fashion of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In the painting "Politicians in the Tuileries Garden" (1832, currently in the Hermitage), we see one of the "politicians" in glasses, attentively reading the latest bulletin.
In his self-portrait, the artist depicted himself in "Harry Potter-style" round glasses, which are currently so popular thanks to the book and movie hero.
A cycle of color lithographs and caricatures created by Boilly between 1823 and 1825 gives an idea not only of the morals of contemporary society, but also of the fashion of that time, including eyewear of a certain configuration. These are various types of monocles, lorgnettes, pince-nez, and glasses.
L.-L. Boilly. "Antiquarians".
L.-L. Boilly. "Medical Consultation".
Monocles and pince-nez were an indispensable attribute of antiquarians, orators, "art dilettantes," and doctors. Another interesting observation: in those distant times, vaccination was just beginning, so Boilly could not ignore this theme, which was exotic for his contemporaries.
Honoré Victorin Daumier (1808–1879), French printmaker, painter, and sculptor, left a huge legacy: about 4,000 lithographs, over 900 drawings for engravings, over 700 paintings and watercolors, and over 60 sculptural works. A significant place in his work is occupied by caricatures. In 1832, Daumier was even imprisoned for half a year for a caricature of the king (the lithography "Gargantua", 1831). Let us recall that caricature (from Italian meaning "to load", "to exaggerate") is one of the genres of fine art (most often graphics), which is the main form of visual satire. Caricatures depict any social, socio-political, and everyday phenomena, real persons, or characteristic human types in a satirical or humorous form.
We remind you that we are primarily interested in caricatures whose main characters are "wearers" of glasses.
Isaac Cruikshank (England) and his son George also engaged in caricatures. They are known for their collections of satirical and political caricatures of 19th-century English society. Glasses and lorgnettes were an indispensable attribute of British society.
"Monstrosities" - this is the title of this caricature of dandy fashionistas. One of them holds a fashionable cane-lorgnette in his hands. Regarding the fashion for optics in the 19th century, O. Weinstein writes the following in her book "Dandy: Fashion, Literature, Lifestyle": "Among the optical devices of the first decades of the 19th century, special mention should be made of a particular toy popular among dandies – a monocle built into the handle of a cane. A cane improved in this way was used on walks and, undoubtedly, was perceived as a special chic, a 'gadget', a rare and prestigious technical toy... A cane with a monocle is a metaphor for authoritative dandy vision; it is a pointer cane... It is depicted in some 19th-century drawings where strolling fashionistas raise their canes and diligently peer into monocles, which creates a very amusing impression. Obviously, contemporaries also noticed the comicality of such gesticulation... Dandy optical devices deserve special attention. Dandies cultivated a squinting look; nearsightedness was considered a fashionable flaw, so the monocle and lorgnette were essential accessories. Going to the opera without a good binocular was unacceptable, and in Paris, the optician Chevalier was popular, selling 32x magnification binoculars. The lorgnette was also used for romantic purposes, to initiate relations with a woman: 'Suppose you want to show a woman your admiration for her charms... When you take your lorgnette, the woman understands that she has made a favorable impression on you. She pays attention to you. Then you make a sign to her with your eyes, which gives you an intriguing look. They will say that thanks to the lorgnette, you evaluated every detail and carefully examined the silhouette under her clothing'."
Obviously, dandies and their ladies used similar lorgnettes, each of which is a work of art.
The next reproduction presents us not only with a portrait of the statesman Count A. Kushelev-Bezborodko, but also blinker glasses (spectacles with side shields). The German artist F. Krüger worked in Germany and Russia. The portrait of the count was painted in 1850–1851.
Unknown artist copied the work of O. Kiprensky, which depicts the poet and translator of the "Iliad", N. Gnedich, in blinker glasses.
Simpler glasses.
M. Alekseyev (Syromyansky). Self-Portrait. 1871. Nizhny Novgorod Art Museum.
V. Tropinin. Portrait of N. I. Bera. Ryazan Regional Art Museum.
We bring to your attention well-known reproductions of portraits of A. Griboyedov, A. Chekhov, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov. Glasses and pince-nez of the end of the century.
I. Kramskoy. Portrait of A. S. Griboyedov. 1873.
I. Repin. Portrait of the composer N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. 1893.
O. Braz. Portrait of A. P. Chekhov. 1898.
And finally, about things close to home—Ukrainian. We do not know for sure whether representatives of the Cossacks wore glasses in the late 17th century, but the famous Russian artist Ilya Repin in the second version of the painting "Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks" depicts the scribe wearing glasses. The artist began working on this version of the painting in 1889. Currently, it is kept in the Kharkiv Art Museum.
