Lorgnette c. 1940

Sylvia Dezon rendered this drawing of a Lorgnette. Consider the act of seeing, of observing. The eyeglasses, in their various forms, appear throughout art history as emblems of knowledge and insight. In medieval depictions, Saint Lucy, the patron saint of sight, often carries her eyes on a platter, a visceral representation of vision. The single eyeglass held aloft in portraits of scholars, or the wise Sibyls, are symbols of wisdom and learnedness. Yet, like Janus, eyeglasses are also capable of facing backward. As we gaze through lenses, we filter our perceptions, shaping our understanding. Here, Dezon’s "Lorgnette," divorced from a face, prompts us to confront the act of seeing, of what we choose to focus on. The lenses remind us that sight is not merely passive, but an active interpretation, colored by our experiences, our biases, and our cultural inheritance.