The Dickinson press., 1888-01-14
THE PANORAMA'S GROWTH
BANvARD'S THREE MILES OF CANVAS
AND THE SHOW OF TO-DAY.

The Illusions of the Round House Pam
orama.Why They arc So Effective
Mystery of the C%yclorana "a Battle
Scene.
Tho ina who will confess To n Iecollc ton
of the time when Banvard's panorama of
the Mississippi was first unfoided 10 the all
m,iation "f the public may be suspected of
benz, either Il married man, to whom youth
Is II" oh ject, or II bachelor SO long buffetcl on
the SEA uf cellhacv that lie has no hope Of
ever reaching port. 1t was a long time ago,
: o l"ns that even the multitude of limitations
that toiinwrd the original Barnard, covering
journeys 10y land, ocean, and river over al
most half the globe, have all vanished into
the atiirS aud been forgotten. 1t was report
I'd that there were three miles of canvas in
Banvar'i'> panorama. That was probably a
managerial fiction hut it is none the less
certain that there were u great maliv yards.
1t took hours to zee! the pictureo off before the
eyes of admitting spectators. ami a lecturer
witt: pya 'tieetl lungs was needed to expa,iate
OH its beauties But there were not many
beauties after all .he Mississippi river.
though IL long river. runs FOR the most part
~ - Aae va atNA ~ 1aNAAAlGu W
flat boats which it may or may not be worth
while 70 try and make picturesque. But tie
motives Of Barnard were patriotic and pc
cuniary rather than artistic. The biggest
river i'll the world was entitled to tho biggest
picture. and il was reasonable % suppcsc that
the two attractions combined would bring
on. the biggest thronss Of spectators that
ever attended all art exhibition.
-. f,, S,.1. =, ~ ., H.,
origin If the fixed panorama MAY he traced,
there is no doub: that tho panorama on roll
els Is n modern conception. There could he
little doubt either from the beginning that
lis career was destined To be brief, for life is
too short to paint pictures by the acre that
Will he good enough u endure. But the idea
seems TO have been susceptible of develop
ment. The cyclorama, called also panorama,
now holds the field vacated by its prede-
ccSSor.
Between the panorama and the cyclorama
there is n wide distinction The former car
i'iel You upon a long voyage and showed a
succession Of scenes, and you We're supposed
To sail 10y on the deck of some steamer; but
TN" latter sets You down, or rather sets you
isn, III the middle Of q Excl landscape made
memorable hy some historical event. AMI
gives n rictrn. of incidents that tan be re-
called only 10y the imagination. The CYCLIC
rama is an invasion Of the field nj historical
painting, therefore, and must he tested by
Sevcrer ranonS OF criticism than the piano.
rama.
There are plenty OF men who believe in the
new form of entertainment, and who seem
willing to risk their dollars OH its success.
Boston, Philadelphia. Chicago. st. Paul and
Denver have each u battle of Gettysburg;
and, i'll this city. a round house is being
erected for the exhibition of n picture of the
same event. Washington, much to the third
confu ion of the Union army, has its Bull
Run. st. Louis and Kansas City their Mis-.
sionary Ridge, San Francisco its Nicksburg,
New Orleans its siege OF Paris, and Minneal,-
oils its Atlanta. Chicago has also n battle of
Shiloh.
AT tho first view of the spectator the cyclic
rama seems to be a mystery. 1t is appar-
emily all absolute reproduction Of tho scene
represented. the objects seeming equal in size
with tho original objects, and the space Gov
cred equally great. A circular building. less
Than 100 feet i'll diameter, and not much more
than fifty feet in elevation, expands TO tile
dimensions ct the space that can be covered
by the eye i'll an open landscape, and reaches
upward to the clouds. a portion Of the fore.
ground, it is very well known, is composed of
real ngules and objects; but the illusion upon
the painted canvas is so perfect thnt the
painted figures Seem hardly less objective
than the real figures, and without the most
careful scrutiny the dividing line cannot bt
distinguished. Surely, the spectator thinks,
there must be some wonderful secret known
only to the painter i'll this illusion.
But there is probably no secret deeper thar
the secret which has caused all art to bt
called u mystery. Shut out the real objects
i'll the foreground from the eye and the dis.
tances in the perspective will not he dimin-
ished nor the figures on the canvas rendered
less strong in their relief. The only service
TINT seems to be rendered by the objective
portions Of tine foreground is to bring the
entire landscape to the feet of the spectator
and to shut out tine intervening space of bare
floor or carpet that wouln otherwise help tc
break the illusion. He is surrounded by the
picture above, below and upon all sides, anu
is permitted to see no other object. He stand.
the very center OF the field delineated. Thi:
doubtless aids to render the scene more .e
n%listic, hut it adds nothing to relief or per
spective. The great size Of the picture
reaching practically from the foot Of Til,
platform to the roof, u distance Of about 1N
feet, is probably the chief cause Of the appar
emily wonderful expansion Of space.
The cyclorama will not prove a more e,
during form OF entertainment than the pane
rama unless it is produced with II more arts
tic motive than controlled the production O
it's predecessor. There is no merit in relief
Save to the extent that itlesults from perfec
modelling, where it is more properly terne
roundness than relief, it is not to he regarde
as al artistic merit. The means for its al
tainment are merely mechanical. and they d
not enter into the motives that govern Ill
production of really fine art. Then, again
the cycloruma is very restricted in its tiel
and demands II constant succession of artist
anachronisms and the misplacing Of inciden,
to be effective.
Thus far the painters of these pictures hay
essayed only battle scenes. and 1t is u field
peculiar hardship. A battle field, represente
literally as it looks to the eye, would prove
very tame affair. Notwithstanding all til;
we hear about personal exposure nnd hero
deeds, the mon intent OH glorious fcats {
arms are generally tryi::5 to keep out {
sight. hiding in the woods and behind ridg,
and fences for the purpose, OF course. of oil
scuring their numbers. Except when sui
jected to the painful necessity Of going i'll
a charge n man may fight allday with har,il
q look at tho face of NJ enemy. The line
battle made by great armies is usually TO,
or five miles long, with obstructions of val
Gus kinds OIL the line of sight. 1t is SOM
times the case that one flank Of an army Ii,
a very desperate fight and wins q vic, OF
when the men on tho other flank can hard.
he convinced that anything moro than a lit
skirmisling had been done. Even the chari
is not what the imagination paints it. a til
gray, black, blue or green line of troops, o,
Of the extrcmities so distant as to be hard
visible, does not cut o very imposing figu
running across a half mile Of open tir
against MI invisible foe. Only the 1ashin
smoking batteries on the ridges md hillto
are grand. Particular incidents Of a bat,
are about all that can DO painted eGectivcl
and they must all be represented in the TO,
Hround.-New York Sun.
happening Boards at the Docks.
Among the flotsam of our docks damag,
boards nre often fOunl in considerable M,