Panorama

A broad or widely inclusive view of subject matter, it usually refers to landscapes. In the 18th and 19th centuries, panoramas were a popular form of entertainment and education. Usually accompanied by music and a lecture, a long roll of canvas was unveiled slowly on cylinders to show a wide view. These presentations, often depicting dramatic battle scenes, were the forerunner of stereopticans and motion pictures. Artist names associated with this type of panorama are Franz Biberstein and August Lohr of Milwaukee, who emigrated from in the early 1880s from Germany to work for the American Panorama Company. This business, founded by Milwaukee resident William Wehner, was the first large-scale panorama producing company in the United States. However, it only lasted for two years, but successor companies kept the activity alive with the 1893 Chicago Exposition being a popular venue. By the end of the 19th century, the fascination with panoramas was subsiding, made apparent by the low enthusiasm for "The Battle of Manila Bay" staged in San Francisco in 1900. From the mid-19th century, the term took on another meaning, which was any landscape painting that, regardless of actual size, conveys a very wide view. Noted artists in this category are Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran with their dramatic western vistas. Among contemporary artists are Ed Mell with his Grand Canyon scenes and Ulrike Heydenreich from Minneapolis who applies modernist techniques of unfolding images on paper rolls to a method rooted almost two centuries back to Europe. Sources: Peter Merrill, "German-American Artists in Early Milwaukee"; Patricia Briggs, "ArtForum", Summer 2005; Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"