Panorama

Invented in 1788, the panorama reached the height of its popularity at the time of the 1900 Universal Exhibition. Designed to be viewed from centrally placed platforms, these vast circular canvases were installed in purpose-built rotundas in major European and American towns, and attracted an admiring public.This illustrated book surveys the wide variety of panoramas created in both the Old and New Worlds, from the medium's invention down to the present day. Included among views of cities are Robert Barker's groundbreaking panorama of Edinburgh, as well as depictions of Paris, Rome and Constantinople. Vistas of the Mississippi and Congo rivers are also illustrated. Among historical themes, the Crucifixion, the history of the nineteenth century and crucial moments in military campaigns proved especially popular. Bernard Comment explores these subjects as well as theoretical aspects of the panorama's history, suggesting how their makers expanded upon concepts latent in the earlier history of landscape painting.