Cyclorama Battle of Atlanta
photo by Nancy Harrison
Cyclorama Battle of Gettysburg
photo by Nancy Harrison
Cyclorama Behalt
photo by Nancy Harrison
Cyclorama Effulgence of the North
photo by Nancy Harrison
Cyclorama Jerusalem
photo by Nancy Harrison
Cyclorama Palace and Gardens of Versailles
photo by Nancy Harrison
Imagine it is the 19th century. You have a few weekend hours to “get away from it all.” You can’t go to the movies, surf youtube, or play a video game. So what do you do?
You could read a book. Chances are, though, you go see a cyclorama.
Cyclo-what-a?
First created by Irish painter Robert Barker in 1787, and popular throughout the 1800’s, cycloramas, or panoramas, are paintings-in-the-round. These giant paintings, often hundreds of feet in circumference, were stretched around the interior of purpose-built circular buildings. Almost every major US and European city had one. The paintings were often taken on traveling exhibitions, entertaining both city folk in cultural centers and pioneers in rural areas.
Cycloramas were promoted as educational and enriching. They depicted historic places, religious scenes, battles or exotic lands. Painted on canvas in realistic style with true perspective, the exhibits gave the viewer the feeling of being immersed in the scene, often accompanied by music and narration. They were the 3D experience of the 19th century.
In the 1900’s the popularity of cycloramas diminished in relation to the rising popularity of movie theatres. However, dozens of cycloramas from the 1800’s still exist along with more recent creations. Four original cycloramas and two contemporary versions are on public display today in North America. They are listed in order from oldest to newest.
Panorama of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York, N.Y.
metmuseum.org
Painted by John Vanderlyn in 1818-19, and also known as the “Vanderlyn Panorama,” this precise rendering of the Versailles palace, gardens and Allée Royale outside Paris still awes visitors. Measuring 12 feet high and 164 feet in circumference, the painting was first displayed in a special building called the Rotunda near City Hall in downtown New York. It then toured the country. The artist is depicted near the Basin of Latona, pointing at Czar Alexander I and the King of Prussia.
Cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg
Gettysburg National Military Park
Gettysburg, Pa.
nps.gov/gett
French artist Paul Philippoteaux, hired by a group of entrepreneurs, came to Gettysburg in 1882. He began sketching the terrain and interviewing veterans of Pickett’s Charge, which had occurred just 19 years earlier. Helped by a team of assistants, the exhibit opened in Chicago a year and a half later, complete with three-dimensional diorama.
The work received such critical acclaim, from veterans and civilians alike, that Philippoteaux was hired to paint a second version of the battle, which opened in Boston in 1884. The original cyclorama building is still in use today by the Boston Center for the Arts.
This second version was purchased, repaired, and put on public display in Gettysburg in 1913. Ownership transferred to the National Park Service in the late 1940’s and the painting underwent a massive restoration project, opening once again in 1962.
A third restoration project was completed from 2003-08, and this magnificent 27-foot high, 359-foot long painting was placed in a viewing auditorium with a restored skyline and foreground.
In all, four cycloramas of the Battle of Gettysburg were created. Wake Forest University owns one version, although it is in bad repair and is not on display. Another was long ago cut up for tents on the Shoshone Indian Reservation. The fate of the fourth version is unknown.
The Battle of Atlanta
Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum
Atlanta
atlantacyclorama.org
This 42x358-foot cyclorama has been on display in Grant Park since 1893. Painted by German artists in 1885-86, George V. Gress donated the painting to the City of Atlanta in 1898. It has been in its present location since 1921.
Visitors sit on a raised stadium platform, which puts them at the center of the July 22, 1864, Battle of Atlanta. Complete with diorama, music and narration available in five languages, this cyclorama is purported to be the largest painting in the world. It is a perfect example of the original purpose of the cyclorama to educate and enrich through entertainment.
One of the dying soldiers in the diorama is a portrait of the actor Clark Gable.
Cyclorama of Jerusalem
Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec, Canada
cyclorama.com
Just prior to his work on the Cyclorama of Gettysburg, artist Paul Philippoteaux was the lead painter for this 46x360 foot cyclorama depicting Jesus Christ's crucifixion. It toured the great capitals of Europe, and then was exhibited in Montreal. On display outside the city of Quebec since 1895, the painting, celebrated as the most artistic and realistic among the remaining cycloramas, gives visitors the feeling of being in Jerusalem reliving the crucifixion.
The cyclorama underwent a restoration project in the late 1950’s. Visitors climb a flight of steps to a raised platform at the center of the painting. Continual narration is available in nine languages and visitors may walk around and view the painting at their leisure.
Thousands upon thousands of people take a pilgrimage to the Cyclorama of Jerusalem each year.
Behalt Cyclorama
Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center
Berlin, Oh.
behalt.com
Behalt means “to keep” or “to remember,” and this cyclorama illustrates the history and heritage of the Amish and Mennonite people. German artist Heinz Gaugel moved to Canada in 1951. When he traveled to Ohio in 1962, searching for brick to use in a mural, he became fascinated with the Amish. Ten years later he moved to Ohio, and in 1978, in answer to rising tourism in the area, he committed to creating what was to become this 10x265 foot cyclorama.
In 1988, the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center (then the Mennonite Information Center) purchased the incomplete painting. A special building to house the cyclorama was completed the next year. Gaugel continued painting, often while visitors looked on, until it was finished in October of 1992. He had a studio at the Center up until his death in 2000.
Effulgence of the North
Velaslavasay Panorama
Los Angeles, Ca.
panoramaonview.org
The Velaslavasay Panorama is a showcase for “unusual visual experiences” including cycloramas. Under the auspices of the Velaslavasay Panorama Enthusiast Society, lead artist Sara Velas and her team create modern day cycloramas for a rotating exhibit.
Currently on display is Effulgence of the North, an exploration of the arctic dramatically lit by the aurora borealis or northern lights. Completed in 2007, the panorama measures 10x90 feet, and includes a diorama, along with an accompanying show of light and sound.
(Nancy Harrison is Project Princess for Everything Just So, a special projects company ready to help you and your business with your to-do lists, including web development. Reach her at nancy@everythingjustso.com.)