Abstract
Abstract Jan David’s Duodecim specula (Antwerp: Officina Plantiniana, 1610) is a meditative emblem book, centred around myriad mirror metaphors. However, it also contains various depictions of ‘real’ optical instruments, such as lenses and concave mirrors, which have not yet been studied as such. This article explores how catoptrics and dioptrics (optical reflection and refraction) inform the meditative programme laid out in Duodecim specula. In the emblems and text, it will be argued, Jan David relies on a type of public knowledge of optics, which he expected the reader to possess. By tapping into this reservoir of optical knowledge and adding onto it, the book stimulates the affective reading process and hands the reader concrete tools for performing the meditative programme.
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