Institutional Members
The Institutional Members of the International Panorama Council (IPC) are central to its mission because they carry an important cultural legacy of immersive media. These members go to extraordinary lengths to maintain and preserve the material and infrastructural integrity of their collections while continuing to operate their panoramas as contemporary visitor attractions. Each member organization brings a wealth of professional expertise and historical knowledge to our community, and their respective missions represent an enduring force of entrepreneurial and creative skills. As panorama stewards around the world, and most especially as participants in our organization, IPC’s Institutional Members offer support to members and non-members alike. Panorama enthusiasts of all kinds are welcomed to connect to the IPC network.
The following panorama organizations are active Institutional IPC Members in 2024:
Bourbaki Panorama, Lucerne, Switzerland
The Bourbaki Panorama, a European cultural monument, portrays the internment of 87,000 French soldiers who fled to Switzerland during the winter of 1871. Visiting the Bourbaki Panorama is like immersing into the Val-de-Travers valley at the end of the nineteenth century, when Switzerland laid the foundations of the humanitarian and neutral tradition. This inspiring story was depicted on the 10 × 112 m (originally 14 × 112 m) circular painting by the painter Edouard Castres in 1881. Circular paintings as a form of mass media are not only considered the precursor of the cinema, they are also a source of inspiration for contemporary media trends and digital narratives. The classified building houses a multicultural and multimedial offering under one roof. The Bourbaki Panorama is also a popular event location in Lucerne. +41 41 412 30 30 | info@bourbakipanorama.ch | https://www.bourbakipanorama.ch/
Bourbaki Panorama in 2021, only partly visible in this photograph. Image, Wikipedia, MHM55, own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Cyclorama de Jérusalem, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Québec, Canada
The 128-year-old Cyclorama of Jérusalem in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré is the only Canadian example of a painted circular panorama and especially unique as it is housed in its original rotunda on stilts. The canvas, measuring 110 m in length and 14 m in height, depicts Jerusalem on the day of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion with striking realism: faux terrain and painted figures in the foreground enhance the immersive, 3-D effect. Originally painted in New York around 1887–1888, it was shown in Montreal for six years before being permanently installed at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in 1895. In that place it became a crucial component of one of Quebec’s most important pilgrimage sites.
The Cyclorama of Jerusalem is one of only 17 surviving nineteenth-century panoramas in the world, and the third oldest in its original rotunda, making it an artistic and architectural ensemble of international significance. The Cyclorama closed to public viewing in October 2018, after over 123 years of continuous display. The Quebec Ministry of Culture designated the site, the panorama and rotunda, as classified Cultural Heritage Property in August 2019.
As owners of the Cyclorama, the Blouin family needs support to preserve the rotunda and the huge artwork on canvas. Thank you for helping us find solutions for the continuity of this historical, cultural and religious monument. +1 418 827 3101 | cycloramadejerusalem@gmail.com https://www.cycloramadejerusalem.com/
Panorama of Jerusalem, exterior of the rotunda in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec, Canada. Image, Wikipedia, Taxiarchos 228, own work, Free Art License.
Panorama 25 December Museum, Gaziantep, Turkey
Panorama 25 December Gaziantep Defense Heroism Panorama and Museum was built under the leadership of the Mayor of Gaziantep, Ms. Fatma ŞAHIN, to immortalize the epic “Antep” war, which is unprecedented in history. In Panorama 25 December Museum, Antep Defense is depicted in every aspect through 14 paintings made with oil painting technique, three dioramas and a unique panoramic area with a length of 120 m and a height of 13 m. Furthermore, Panorama 25 December Museum, which hosts dozens of works donated by the relatives of martyrs and veterans of the Antep War, also consists of the interactive areas required by contemporary and modern museology.
The museum was first opened to visitors in 2020. From the first day of its establishment, various events such as award-winning competitions, conferences, workshops, exhibitions and symposiums have been organized in the museum. In addition, monthly newsletters on Gaziantep Defense are published and brochures promoting the museum are distributed to visitors. Panorama 25 December Museum hosted 125,275 visitors in 2021 and 256,302 visitors in 2022. +0342 211 12 00 (8906) / (8903) | info@panorama25aralik.com | http://panorama25aralik.com/tr/
Panorama 25 December logo, Gaziantep, Türkiye. Image, Public Domain.
Museum Panorama Mesdag, The Hague, Netherlands
Museum Panorama Mesdag is an icon in The Hague, with the Panorama of Scheveningen as its absolute highlight. The museum owes its name to the largest painting in the Netherlands, but also houses an impressive collection of other works by Hendrik Willem Mesdag and his wife Sientje Mesdag–van Houten. With many temporary exhibitions that connect the past to the present there is always something new to see in this museum, which remains endlessly fascinating for all visitors.
History of the Panorama
The Panorama of Scheveningen is over 140 years old. In 1880, Hendrik Willem Mesdag received a commission from a Belgian panorama firm for this 360-degree painting. He chose the village of Scheveningen, which he loved and could reach on foot from his home in The Hague, as his subject. The location from which he painted was the highest dune in the village: the Seinpost Dune.
Biggest Painting in the Netherlands
Taking up all of 1680 square m, the Panorama of Scheveningen is the largest painting in the Netherlands. It is 14.6 m tall and 114.5 m in circumference. With the help of his wife, Sientje Mesdag–van Houten, George Hendrik Breitner, Théophile de Bock and Bernard Blommers—all of whom were renowned painters in their time—Mesdag was able to complete the Panorama of Scheveningen in only four months. This was a tremendous achievement.
Since 1881
The Panorama’s grand opening was held on 1 August 1881. One of the guests was Vincent van Gogh. He was extremely impressed by it, exclaiming in mock complaint that the canvas contained only one flaw: namely that it was flawless.
From Panorama to Museum
Mesdag’s panorama is one of the few to have been preserved and the oldest in the world to still be on display at its original location. With the emergence of cinema, the popularity of panoramas started to wane and Mesdag’s Panorama of Scheveningen went bankrupt only a few years after its opening. This upset the painter so much that he purchased the panorama and so became the museum’s first director in 1886. In the gallery leading to the panorama, he presented paintings by himself and his wife Sientje Mesdag-van Houten, as well as their contemporaries. Both artists are considered to be among the most significant painters of the Hague School. +07 03106665 | info@panorama-mesdag.nl | https://panorama-mesdag.nl/en/
Panorama Mesdag in the Hague, Netherlands, painted by Hendrik Willem Mesdag in 1880–1881. Image, Public Domain.
Bursa Fetih Müzesi Panorama 1326, Bursa, Türkiye
Constructed by the Osmangazi Municipality and opened in 2018, the Panorama 1326 Bursa Conquest picture depicts the city on the day of April 6, 1326 at around 11 am. It is the day of surrender and handing over the symbolic key of the city by the Byzantine governor to Orhan Ghazi, the conqueror of Bursa. The picture’s viewing point is the minaret of Haci Ivaz Pasha Mosque, located near the Grand Mosque of Bursa at the city center. Constructed in the form of a full fanorama, it is the world’s largest “full panoramic” museum with a 42-meter diameter dome. The Conquest Museum is also the structure with the largest dome in Türkiye. Even though the title mentions conquest, the Panorama picture does not depict a scene of war; instead it depicts the lifestyle of semi-nomadic Turks, food culture, clothing culture, daily practices, traditional sports and games, and the natural scene of the city from the viewing point. All the details and figures in the digitally created panoramic picture were made as a result of meticulous research and based on historical sources, under the supervision of the “History and Art Board,” which consists of expert academics. In addition to permanent galleries, the museum also houses a temporary exhibition hall, a library, two cafeterias, two multi-functional conference halls, a forum area and a gift shop. The Museum is located in an area that can be described as the eastern gate of the historic commercial neighborhood. +0 224 224 1326 | panorama1326@osmangazi.bel.tr | https://www.panorama1326.com.tr/
Bursa Fetih Müzesi Panorama 1326, Bursa, Türkiye. Image, Wikimedia Commons, Zhryldiz, own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Laysan Island Cyclorama—University of Iowa Museum of Natural History, Iowa City, Iowa / USA
The University of Iowa Museum of Natural History was founded by order of the Iowa Legislature in 1858 and is the oldest university museum west of the Mississippi River. The museum combines exhibits, education resources, programming, collections and research opportunities to support the University of Iowa and our community. The mission of the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History is to inspire in visitors of all ages understanding and a sense of wonder, discovery, respect, and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds through exhibits, educational programs, and collections, as well as through linkages with UI research and activities.
Unique to the Museum of Natural History is the Laysan Island Cyclorama. The century-old Laysan Island Cyclorama offers a 360-degree view of Laysan, an outpost of the Hawaiian atoll and a bird sanctuary. The Laysan Island Cyclorama is the only one left of its kind. Completed in 1914, it was one of the first and is now the last remaining example to feature a natural history group. It is the only one ever to represent a single ecosystem. The Laysan Island Cyclorama is in a purpose-built room in the northwest corner of the Hageboeck Hall of Birds, in Macbride Hall on the University of Iowa campus in downtown Iowa City. Considered an integral part of the Museum of Natural History, the building was constructed with space reserved for the yet-to-be-created cyclorama. +1 319 335 0480 | Pentacrest Museums Director, Liz Crooks | https://pentacrestmuseums.uiowa.edu/people/liz-crooks | Laysan Island Cyclorama
Laysan Island Cyclorama, University of Iowa Museum of Natural History, Iowa City, Iowa, USA. Image, Nicholas Lowe.
Musée d’Histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg, Luxembourg
The Historical Museum of the City of Luxembourg presents a panorama that shows the central square of the town in the seventeenth century and was created in 2006 by the French artist Antoine Fontaine.
+352 4796 4500 | Director, Danièle Wagener | musee@2musees.vdl.lu | www.mhvl.lu
“Panorama ‘Le Marché-aux-Herbes’ vers 1650” (detail) painted by Antoine Fontaine, Lëtzebuerg City Museum, 2006. Image, T. Logge.
Ópusztaszer National Historical Heritage Park—Feszty-Panorama, Ópusztaszer, Hungary
The Ópusztaszer National Historical Heritage Park invites to explore the history of Hungary as well as the culture and life-style of people living on the Southern Great Plain. Beautifully nestled in the Pusztaszer Protected Landscape, the Heritage Park marks one of the most sacred and important historical sites in Hungary, Ópusztaszer, where in the year 896 the modern nation of Hungary was born. The Heritage Park exhibits one of Europe’s largest panorama paintings, the Feszty-panorama 'Arrival of the Conquering Hungarians into the Carpathian Basin. +36 62 275 257 | Director, Péter Kertész | info@opusztaszer.hu | www.opusztaszer.hu
Feszty-Panorama, rotunda exterior in Ópusztaszer National Historical Heritage Park, Ópusztaszer Hungary. Image, Wikipedia, Dr. János Korom, CC BY-SA 2.0.