Bourbaki Panorama
The Bourbaki Panorama is a circular panoramic painting
Background
The subject of the painting is the movement of French General Charles-Denis Bourbaki's Armée de l'Est to neutral Switzerland in February 1871, towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Bourbaki's army had been defeated during the 15-17 January Battle of the Lisaine, whilst unsuccessfully attempting to relieve the Prussian Siege of Belfort. Bourbaki's army was granted asylum on the provision that they lay down their arms and enter internment. Some 88,000 men marched into Switzerland via Les Verrières, abandoning 11,000 horses, 1,150 wagons, 285 artillery pieces, 7,200 rifles and 64,000 bayonets. The wounded received care from the Swiss Red Cross and local villagers.[1] The interned men were released back to France after six weeks.[2]
Painting
The internment was a well known event in post-war Switzerland and it was selected as the subject for a panoramic painting by the Belgium Panorama Society who hoped that a Swiss exhibition of the work would attract visitors from Switzerland and France. The Soiciety commissioned Édouard Castres to produce the work in 1876. Castres was a Swiss artist who came to prominence in the post-war years. He had been studying art in Paris when the war broke out and his only commercial art activity was to produce copies of other works. Castres, whose family had French Huguenot ancestry, felt an obligation to assist France in the war. He volunteered as a medical assistant and acquired a horse and cart that he used to ferry the wounded from the battlefield to aid stations.[3] Castres had accompanied the Armée de l'Est into internment.[4] Castres afterwards produced a number of un-heroic depictions of events from the war, which were well received and brought him fame.[3]
To prepare for the commission Castres spent the winter of 1876-77 at Verrières, sketching and painting the landscape to help him to reproudce it more accurately on the panorama.[1] Castres worked on the panorama for five months with a team of ten painters who went largely uncredited, though it is known that Ferdinand Hodler was among them.[5][6][7] Castres wanted to create a sense of atmosphere and so painted the panorama as if the viewer was within the scene, not looking down upon it from higher ground.[3] The sense of atmosphere and depth was heightened by the inclusion of three-dimensional objects in the foreground, in front of the painting, when it was exhibited.[8] These objects included figures, military equipment and even a railway carriage.[9] The focus of the painting is upon the meeting of French General General Justin Clinchant (to whom Bourbaki had given command of the Armée de l'Est) and the Swiss General Hans Herzog in front of the Hôtel Fédéral.[1] The rest of the scene shows a line of weary and wounded French soldiers trekking through a snow-covered valley to pile their arms under the supervision of the Swiss Bernese Battalion.[4][1] Some of the Frenchmen are being assisted by local residents and members of the Red Cross.[4] Rail lines and straight roads provide axes of perspective.[1] The circumference of the finished work, rendered in oil paint on canvas, is 115 metres (377 ft).[1]
Later history
Moved from Geneva to Lucerne by Benjamin Henneburg, who had purchased it from the original owners and exhibitors.[5]
Cut down measures 9.80 metres (32.2 ft) in height. It was completed in 1881 and exhibted for several years in Geneva. Transferred to Lucerne in 1889 into a rotunda built for a panorama of the 1386 Battle of Sempach by Louis Braun. Braun never completed his commission. The canvas was twice cut down in the 20th century, losing a third of its heught and flattening its sky, which was originally higher and more open. Under restoration from 1977.The panorama depicts the tragic aspects of war, rather than the usual celebration of victory, it also celebrates Swiss neutrality and hospitality. Castres spent the winter of 1876-77 at Verrières to ensure he captured the landscape accurately. The work depicts a column of French infantrymen and the Swiss Bernese battalion. Rail lines and a road serve as axes of perspective.[1]
The panorama depicts the tragic aspects of war, rather than the usual celebration of victory, it also celebrates Swiss neutrality and hospitality. [1]
Regarded as one of Lucerne's greatest artworks. Was a sensation for the late 19th-century. [8]
One of few surviving circular paintings in the world. [8]
Visited by thousands of people each year. An app has been developed that allows the panorama to be viewed in detail.[10]
Depicted by Jeff Wall's 1993 photograph Restoration, though it was not actually under restoration at the time and ateam of conservators were posed.[11]
"The IMAX theater of the 19th century". A recorded commentary is provided in English. The wooden rotunda is surrounded by a modern glass cube with shops, cinems and a restaurant.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Comment, Bernard (2002). The Panorama. Reaktion Books. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-86189-123-5.
- ^ Lachenmann, Frauke; Wolfrum, Rüdiger (2017). The Law of Armed Conflict and the Use of Force. Oxford University Press. p. 808.
- ^ a b c Wojdon, Joanna (8 February 2016). E-teaching History. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4438-8855-4.
- ^ a b c Stafford, Barbara Maria; Terpak, Frances; Poggi, Isotta (2001). Devices of Wonder: From the World in a Box to Images on a Screen. Getty Publications. p. 322. ISBN 978-0-89236-590-6.
- ^ a b Wojdon, Joanna (8 February 2016). E-teaching History. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4438-8855-4.
- ^ a b Fodor's Switzerland. Fodor's Travel. 31 March 2015. p. 386. ISBN 978-1-101-87872-9.
- ^ Comment, Bernard (2002). The Panorama. Reaktion Books. p. 215. ISBN 978-1-86189-123-5.
- ^ a b c Duthel, Heinz (4 March 2019). Switzerland - Schweizer - Suisse - Svizzera. BoD – Books on Demand. p. 295. ISBN 978-3-7494-2812-0.
- ^ Frey, Bruno S. (1 May 2021). Overcoming Overtourism: Creating Revived Originals. Springer Nature. p. 56. ISBN 978-3-030-63814-6.
- ^ Wojdon, Joanna (8 February 2016). E-teaching History. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4438-8855-4.
- ^ Mieszkowski, Jan (22 August 2012). Watching War. Stanford University Press. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-8047-8501-3.