Claude glasses

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Scope note
Convex, dark-tinted glasses used as mirrors to reflect landscapes or objects in landscape in reduced size, muted colors, and merged detail, abstracting the subject from its surroundings, simplifying it, and presenting it in terms of light and shade. It was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries with artists, travelers, and those who simply wished to view landscapes in a different way. They were either handheld, or larger ones were mounted beside the windows of carriages. They were said to have been used by the painter Claude Lorrain, who produced similar effects in his landscapes, hence the name.
Claude glasses
Accepted term: 29-Apr-2024