I found myself at Gettysburg National Military Park this past weekend. Among other things I went to the Cyclorama which displays French Artist Paul Philippoteaux's painting "Battle of Gettysburg". It is a mind-boggling canvas that measures 377 feet in circumference and is 42 feet tall and brings to life the fury of the third day (July 3, 1863) of the Battle of Gettysburg. Philippoteaux was commissioned to paint it in 1879.
I could have spent hours with the ranger who explained the logistics of shipping the canvas from France to Chicago where it was first exhibited, then displayed around the country, the assembly in the circular wall at its permanent home in Gettysburg and subsequent maintenance and periodic restoration.
From the National Park Service
"Cycloramas were a very popular form of entertainment in the late 1800's, both in America and Europe. These massive, oil-on-canvas paintings were displayed in special auditoriums and enhanced with landscaped foregrounds sometimes featuring trees, grasses, fences and even life-sized figures. The result was a three-dimensional effect that surrounded viewers who stood on a central platform, literally placing them in the center of the great historic scene."
The painting has been digitized in the 360 degree video below by the American Battlefield Trust - it's worth a watch, but I was thinking with today's AR/VR we will likely see a next generation depiction.
Of course, nothing beats a visit to the Park, and a walk around many of the sites of the battle. It is so solemn.
And to me even more gratifying was seeing many artifacts of President Abraham Lincoln's famous "Four Score and Seven Years ago" address at the location a few months after the battle.
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