Spectacular Vision: The Symbolism of Eyeglasses in Art History

German writers Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Johann Peter Eckermann weren’t fans of glasses. Goethe argued they “ruin that equal connection we share… What’s the point of talking to someone if I can’t look them straight in the eye?” For Eckermann, people who wore glasses were “vain”—their lenses “boosted their senses beyond what nature gave them.” But in their complaints, we see a truth summed up by Neil Handley, curator of the British Optical Association Museum: there’s a “psychology of wearing glasses” that’s long shaped how we see them. We often think of glasses’ symbolism in books (like Piggy’s specs in Lord of the Flies), but for centuries, art has told the story of what glasses mean to us—ever since they were invented.

Early Eyeglasses in Art: Wisdom and Anachronism

Glass lenses for vision help date back to ancient times, but the glasses we recognize today—two round lenses held in a frame—first emerged in late 13th-century Italy. Religious scholars were some of the first to be linked to glasses in art—and that link stuck fast.

The very first depiction of glasses in European art is in a set of frescoes painted in 1352 by Tommaso da Modena for Treviso’s Church of San Nicolò. One panel shows Cardinal Hugh of Saint-Cher (c. 1200–1263) deep in thought, pen in hand, with glasses perched high on his nose.

Glasses also pop up in paintings of Saint Jerome—famous for translating the Bible into Latin. In these works, his glasses sit on or near his desk, just like a doctor’s stethoscope today: a tool that screams “scholar.”

But here’s the catch: both Cardinal Hugh and Saint Jerome died before glasses were invented. That’s what art historians call an “anachronism”—a mix-up of time periods. But it reveals how quickly glasses became a symbol of wisdom. So much so that Saint Jerome even became the patron saint of spectacle makers.

17th-Century Art: Glasses as Symbols of Greed and Mortality

By the 15th century, Florence was a hub for making innovative glasses. By the 16th century, as trade spread to cities like Nuremberg, Germany, you could spot spectacle peddlers on streets across Western Europe. But by the 17th century, glasses started to carry negative vibes, too.

Take The Misers, a genre painting in the style of David Ryckaert III (1612–1661). It shows an older woman wearing Nuremberg-style “nose spectacles” (glasses that sit on the nose without arms) and an old man weighing coins. The message is clear: by this time, glasses were used to depict greed or jobs people looked down on—like tax collectors.

Another 17th-century work, Jan Davidsz. de Heem’s (1606–1683/1684) Memento Mori, places a pair of nose spectacles between a bouquet of wilting flowers and an upside-down skull. The title means “remember you will die,” and the painting fits the “vanitas” style—popular with Dutch artists back then—focused on life’s fleetingness. Here, glasses likely stand for the pursuit of knowledge. At first glance, the work says “even learning can’t stop death.” But the skull is upside down, and the glasses are front and center—hinting at a twist: maybe great ideas let us “cheat death” by leaving a legacy.

18th–19th Centuries: Glasses Get a Fashion Makeover

For nearly 400 years, glasses barely changed—until the 18th century. The invention of newspapers (which meant more close reading) drove innovation: glasses got “arms” (the parts that hook over ears), and C-shaped nose bridges became popular. By the 19th century, old-fashioned nose spectacles felt outdated—and the era of “dandy culture” (men obsessed with style) brought some of the fanciest glasses yet.

José Buzo Cáceres’ Portrait of a Gentleman shows a man wearing tinted glasses with side shields—trendy in the 1830s. Neil Handley notes the man’s eyes are hidden, suggesting the glasses might have been used to cover something people found uncomfortable: like illness or blindness. “Throughout history,” Handley says, “people with blind eyes often used eye patches or opaque lenses to avoid prejudice or disgust.” But the glasses’ sleek design also says something else: they were a status symbol, too.

Modern Art: Glasses as Part of Identity

The mixed meanings of glasses—good and bad—still stick around today. John Howard Jephcott’s (1910–1984) Portrait of an Intellectual leans into the “glasses = smarts” link, harking back to Eckermann’s idea of “artificial excellence.” Now, that “illusion” feels like a reality. Like in Cáceres’ portrait, the man’s eyes are almost closed; the glasses blend into his face, as if they’re part of his skin—not just an accessory, but who he is as an “intellectual.”

In Myself, Aged 76 (1958), a self-portrait by former miner and amateur artist Charles William Brown, the eyes are also hard to see. The glasses are smudged and scratched, worn down by time—just like Brown himself. It’s like they defy their purpose: instead of helping him see clearly, they blur his vision.

And in an anonymous artist’s Dragon and Man, thick lines for the glasses make the main figure feel unique. Here, glasses aren’t about class, age, or job—they’re about personality. They’re a nod to human ingenuity: we invented glasses because we weren’t happy with the limits of our own eyes (or, as Eckermann put it, because of “vanity”).

Today’s Glasses: Fashion, Function, and Stigma

Thanks to 21st-century tech (like laser eye surgery), glasses are now both a fashion statement and a medical tool for many. Looking back at how glasses are painted in fine art, we’re reminded of their long history as a status symbol—but also of the “stigma around wearing glasses” that still lingers. They’ve come a long way from nose spectacles in 13th-century Italy, but one thing stays the same: glasses tell a story about the person wearing them.

FAQ: Eyeglasses in Art

Q: Why do old paintings show people with glasses who lived before glasses were invented?

A: Artists added glasses as a “symbolic shorthand” for wisdom. Even though figures like Saint Jerome died pre-glasses, glasses made viewers instantly see them as scholars.

Q: When did glasses start being seen as a fashion accessory?

A: The 19th century, during “dandy culture.” Men focused on style, so glasses got sleeker designs—like tinted side-shield frames—that were as much about looks as vision.

Q: What’s a “vanitas” painting, and why do they include glasses?

A: Vanitas art focuses on life’s fleetingness (think skulls, wilting flowers). Glasses often stand for knowledge—reminding viewers that even learning can’t stop death (though some paintings twist this to say ideas live on).