Historic Panoramic Paintings And Cycloramas

The word ‘panorama’ is used very frequently in modern times. The rise of mobile phone photography and the ability to take panoramic photographs without specialized equipment contributed to its popularity. But the word itself is very old. It was originally coined by the Irish painter Robert Barker in 1792 to describe his paintings of Edinburgh, Scotland, which he made on a cylindrical surface. Barker displayed his 360-degree paintings inside a brick rotunda building which he erected in Leicester Square, London. He called it “The Panorama”.

Barker charged visitors a flat 3 shillings to stand on a central platform under a skylight, surrounding which were enormous paintings that created an immersive illusion of standing in the middle of the landscape while the depicted scenes unfolded. To increase the realism of his scenes, Baker concealed all the borders of the canvas and strategically placed props in the foreground. Patrons were given orientation plans to help them navigate the scene and identify key buildings, sites, or events exhibited on the canvas. To heighten the immersive experience, Barker even made the audience walk down a dark corridor and up a long flight of stairs so that their minds could be refreshed before they viewed a scene.

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Details from a panorama depicting the Siege of Sevastopol, created in 1905. Photo credit: Rumlin/Wikimedia

The success of Barker's Panorama spread to rest of Europe, and later to the U.S., where it spawned a series of immersive panoramas. These panoramas originally depicted urban settings, but later military battles became a popular subject among panorama artists and viewers both. Robert Barker’s son Henry Aston Barker created several panoramas of Napoleon Bonaparte’s battles, impressing the French general and forging a lifelong friendship between the two.

A team of artists were usually involved in the creation of a single panorama. Some did the landscape, some drew the people, some created the skies. Often artists would travel to the sites and sketch the scenes on site. These panoramas were displayed on purpose-built circular or hexagonal-shaped buildings known as cycloramas, which existed on every major European and American cities. New panoramas were being created all the time, and exhibits were changed every few months. Between 1793 and 1863, at least 126 panoramas were exhibited at the Museum of London.

One of the most prolific panorama painters was the Russian, Franz Alekseyevich Roubaud, who created some of the largest and best known panoramic paintings. His two most famous creations are the Sevastopol Panorama (created in 1905), depicting the Siege of Sevastopol, and the Borodino Panorama (created in 1911), depicting the Battle of Borodino.

Sevastopol Panorama [click to enlarge]. Photo credit: Rumlin/Wikimedia

The Sevastopol Panorama is 14 meters tall and 115 meters long, and shows the Allied assault on the Malakhov Battery in 1855 during the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. The panoramic painting was completed in three years after extensive research by Franz Roubaud that involved travelling to Sevastopol, reading historical documents and talking to survivors. It is Franz Roubaud’s best works, and it can be seen at the Panorama Museum in Sevastopol, Ukraine.

Borodino Panorama [click to enlarge]. Photo credit: Public domain

Franz Roubaud’s other famous work, the Borodino Panorama, depicts the Battle of Borodino that took place in 1812 in the Russian city of Borodino during Napoleon's French invasion of Russia. The painting is 15 meters tall and 115 meters long. It’s now on display at the Panorama Museum of the Borodino Battle in Moscow.

The oldest known surviving panorama was completed in 1814 by Marquard Wocher, and is on display at the Schadau Castle. It depicts an average morning in the Swiss town of Thun. Another very old panorama is the Salzburg Panorama, dating to 1829. It was painted by Johann Michael Sattler and is housed in the Salzburg Museum, in Austria.

Other noteworthy panoramas include:

Maroldovo Panorama (1898) located in Prague
Cyclorama of the Battle of Atlanta (1885-87) located in Atlanta, the US
Panorama Mesdag (1880) located in The Hague, in The Netherland
Gettysburg Cyclorama (1883) located in Gettysburg, the US
Pleven Panorama (1877) in Pleven, Bulgaria
Racławice Panorama (1893) located in Wrocław, Poland
Panorama of the Garden and Palace of Versailles (1818-19) located in New York City
Cyclorama of Jerusalem (1895) located in Quebec, Canada
Arrival of the Hungarians or Feszty Panorama (1892-94) located in Ópusztaszer, Hungary
Bourbaki Panorama (1881) located in Switzerland
Panorama of the Battle of Waterloo (1911) located in Belgium

The interest in panoramic paintings waned in the 20th century with the arrival of moving pictures, though in the United States they experienced a partial revival. The most popular ones traveled from city to city to provide local entertainment, like a travelling circus. New panoramas are still being created, but on a smaller scale. Among contemporary panoramas, the one that is worth visiting is the Panorama 1453 Historical Museum in Istanbul that depicts the Fall of Constantinople.