History of Glasses

The history of the development of optics is dedicated to numerous works, including online publications. Anyone who types the phrase "history of optics" or "history of glasses" in a search engine will find at least a dozen websites that more or less accurately describe the history of the appearance of the first glasses. The reasons are clear: people with poor vision have lived in all times, so their desire to see the world brighter and better is completely understandable. We will not avoid re-singing materials available to everyone, but we have the courage to demonstrate our vision of this history to you. We offer brief information about the main types of glasses that we found in encyclopedic publications and, in our opinion, the most interesting selection of reproductions of paintings, icons, and etchings whose theme is glasses and their modifications.

For the convenience of the site's visitors, the material is presented in the following order: brief information about the varieties of glasses and a selection of reproductions allowing everyone interested in this topic to see how the design of glasses changed over the centuries. We hope that each of our guests will enjoy viewing reproductions of both famous paintings and those you will see for the first time.

Types of Glasses

 

Glasses in the 13th-15th Centuries

 

Glasses in the 16th Century

 

Glasses in the 17th Century

 

Glasses in the 18th Century

 

Glasses in the 19th Century

 

Glasses in the 20th Century