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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 and life-size figures. The result was a
three-dimensional effect that surrounded the viewers who stood on a
central platform, literally placing them in the center of the scene. Most
cycloramas depicted historic events such as great battles, religious
themes or scenes from great works of literature. Hundreds were painted and
exhibited in Europe and America during the 1800's, yet most were lost or
destroyed as their popularity died out with the introduction of a more
entertaining art form, motion pictures. The
"Battle of Gettysburg" Cyclorama at Gettysburg National Military Park is
one that has survived. This fantastic painting brings the fury of the
final Confederate assault on July 3, 1863 to life, providing the viewer
with a sense of what occurred at the battle long touted as the turning
point of the Civil War. The culmination of the battle was captured on
canvas by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux, a professional cyclorama
painter and artist. Philippoteaux was not present at Gettysburg, but came
to the United States in 1879 when he was hired by a group of entrepreneurs
to paint this monumental work for a special display in Chicago.
Philippoteaux came to Gettysburg in 1882 armed with a sketchbook, pencils,
pens, and a simple guide book to help him locate the site of the climactic
charge. The artist spent several weeks on the battlefield, observing
details of the terrain and making hundreds of sketches. To help him recall
the landscape with accuracy, Philippoteaux hired a Gettysburg photographer
to produce a series of panoramic photographs for his use. These images are
some of the earliest detailed photographs of Cemetery Ridge, the Angle and
the "High Water Mark", and the field of Pickett's Charge. Philippoteaux
was also lucky enough to interview a number of veterans of the battle, who
helped with suggestions on how to depict the chaos of battle.
Armed with a vast amount of information and ideas,
Philippoteaux returned to his studio where he immediately set about laying
out the great work. A team of assistants helped him sketch out every
detail including soldiers, trees, crops, fences and stone walls, and then
began applying tons of oil paint. The phenomenal work took over a year and
one-half to complete. The "Cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg" opened
to the public in Chicago in 1883, complete with a three-dimensional
earthen foreground littered with the relics of battle, stone walls,
shattered trees and broken fences. Visitors were awed by the painting's
spectacular realism. Veterans of the battle, including General John Gibbon
whose troops threw back Pickett's Division on July 3, wrote of its
splendor.
Philippoteaux's "Battle of Gettysburg" received
such public acclaim that he was contracted to paint a second version of
his monumental work, which opened in Boston one year later. Once again
Philippoteaux's "Battle of Gettysburg" cyclorama received critical review
and hundreds of visitors crowded the specially-built cyclorama building on
Tremont Street to view the incredible painting and listen to a lecture on
the battle and the personalities involved in this monumental event. The
painting was exhibited for nearly twenty years before waning public
interest caused the theater to be financially inoperable, and the
Gettysburg Cyclorama shut its doors.
Hearing that the Boston cyclorama was up for sale,
a Gettysburg-area entrepreneur purchased the painting and moved it with
the props and accoutrements of its foreground to Gettysburg. The painting
arrived in good condition, though several of the panels were ripped and
torn, and some had rotted around the bottom from moisture in the soil of
the foreground. Repairs were made to the rips by taking portions of the
skyline, the upper portion of which was evidently discarded, and stitching
them into place where they were over painted by artists as each panel was
hung. The cyclorama opened for public exhibition just in time for the 1913
Anniversary celebration of the Battle of Gettysburg in a specially
constructed building on Baltimore Street, where it remained for
approximately forty years. Purchased by the National Park Service in the
late 1940's, the painting was moved to its present home in 1962. The
artistic work underwent a massive restoration project that required hours
of hand labor to repair water damaged portions of the painting and two
large sections faded by years of direct sunlight. The project was
completed and the cyclorama re-opened for public viewing in 1962 with the
dedication of the National Park Service Visitor Center, which is the
Cyclorama Center today. The Gettysburg Cyclorama is 359 feet long, 27 feet
high and weighs an estimated 3 tons. In 2003-2007, it will undergo a
massive restoration project to repair unstable sections of the canvas and
restore original details removed by the numerous repair and preservation
attempts. Eventually it will be hung in its own unique viewing auditorium
in the new National Park Service Visitor Center at Gettysburg, with a
restored skyline and foreground.
The fate of the other Gettysburg Cycloramas has
been less fortunate. The Chicago painting was eventually sold and was in
private ownership until its donation to Wake Forest University in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The painting has survived, though it is in
desperate need of restoration and a permanent home. Two more versions of
the Gettysburg Cyclorama were painted and exhibited, including one shown
in Denver, Colorado. One of these was cut up for use as tents by native
Americans on a Shoshone Indian Reservation after the turn of the century.
The fate of the other painting is unknown.
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