Hey, that's what the Post calls it. The Gettysburg Cyclorama is making a comeback. What is the cyclorama you might ask? It is a 360 degree oil painting depicting Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg. The cyclorama is one of the last surviving cycloramas in the United States. It is being restored and will be the showpiece in a new multi-million dollar building at Gettysburg National Military Park. The cyclorama used to hang in a 1960s building, where it was on display for more than 40 years. It had been painted in 1884 by French artist Paul Philippoteaux.
One of the pieces of the cyclorama is 26 feet long and weighs more than 950 pounds. It was hoisted into place that past week. When completed the new visitor's center will resemble a Pennsylvania farmhouse and will be far from the battlefield. The current visitor (read: not there during the battle) structures will be torn down. The cyclorama is not expected to be shown again until fall of 2008.
Cycloramas used to be all the rage. There were at least two in Washington, DC. One was on 15th Street NW, near the Treasury Building and featured cycloramas of the battles of Gettysburg, Shiloh, and Bull Run. There were nine Gettysburg cycloramas touring the country. Philippoteaux made four of them. And here is your MAC (mandatory archival content): When hired Philippoteaux hired a photographer to take pictures of the battlefield to ensure the accuracy; then he came to Washington and did research on the battle and examined maps.
This particular painting has had a hard life. First installed in Boston in 1890, it was cut into pieces, crated, and left in a vacant lot in Boston. It was set on fire twice, and exposed to the elements. In the early 1900s, it was acquired by a department store owner, who installed most of the pieces in his Newark, NJ store. In 1913, for the 50th anniversary of the battle, an unheated, tile-covered building on the battlefield was constructed and the painting was put on display. Finally in 1942, the National Park Service acquired the painting and built a cyclorama building in time for the 100th anniversary of the battle in 1963.
And now, the cyclorama is, ahem, coming around again. A new building for an old painting.
1 comment:
Whether you care or not about the Civil War, battlefields, or whatnot, it is an amazing piece to see in person.
And for you battlefield geeks out there, first the tower came down, now the old visitor center, and hopefully even more of the town sprawl on the battlefield end will go away too.
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