Damian Markus Widmer 1932 – 2023

Damian Widmer passed away in Luzern, Switzerland on June 11, 2023 at the age of 90.

Damian Widmer contributed in strong and significant ways to the present-day understanding of the panorama and has inspired great enthusiasm in so many of us about the art form. His commitment and excitement for panoramas were an important part of the foundation and continued success of the International Panorama Council and our gatherings throughout the years. His friendship will be remembered for a long time to come. He will be deeply missed and our memories of time with him greatly treasured.

Gebhard Streicher 1929 – 2024

Gebhard Streicher was a Co-Founder and Honorary Member of the International Panorama Council, he passed away at the age of 95 in Munich, Germany, on November 11, 2024.

Anyone who witnessed the activities of the International Panorama Council in its early years will still have vivid memories of Gebhard Streicher. He not only founded the association in 1992, together with the Swiss architect Damian Widmer (d. 2023) and the Hungarian archaeologist Ottó Trogmayer (d. 2015), but was also the driving force in its early years.

Gebhard Streicher dedicated a significant part of his life to the care and preservation of the Jerusalem Panorama, which his grandfather Gebhard Fugel (1863–1939) had painted in 1903 for the Marian pilgrimage site of Altötting, Germany. He was director of the panorama and chair of the foundation for more than 40 years.

From 1998 to 2003, he served as President of the IPC. During this time, he organized several international panorama conferences. He will also be remembered as a speaker at many panorama conferences.

Photo: H. Heine