The ''Racławice Panorama'' (Polish: ''Panorama Racławicka'') is a monumental (15 × 114 meter) cycloramic

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

depicting the Battle of Racławice, during the Kościuszko Uprising. It is located in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

, Poland. The painting is one of only a few preserved relics of a genre of 19th-century mass culture, and the oldest in Poland. The panorama stands in a circular fashion and, with the viewer in the center, presents different scenes at various viewing angles. A special kind of perspective used in the painting and additional effects (lighting, artificial terrain) create a feeling of reality.

History

The idea came from the painter

Jan Styka Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

in Lwów (currently known as Lviv) who invited battle-painter

Wojciech Kossak Wojciech Horacy Kossak (31 December 1856 – 29 July 1942) was a noted Polish painter and member of the celebrated Kossak family of artists and writers. He was the son of painter Juliusz Kossak, and twin brother of freedom fighter Tadeusz Kossa ...

to participate in the project. They were assisted by Ludwik Boller, Tadeusz Popiel, Zygmunt Rozwadowski,

Teodor Axentowicz Teodor Axentowicz ( Armenian: Թեոդոր Աքսենտովիչ; 13 May 1859 in Brașov, Austrian Empire – 26 August 1938 in Kraków, Second Polish Republic) was a Polish- Armenian painter and university professor. A renowned artist of his times ...

, Włodzimierz Tetmajer,

Wincenty Wodzinowski Wincenty Wodzinowski (1866 in Igołomia – 1940 in Kraków) was a Polish painter and art teacher; associated with the Young Poland movement. Biography He took his first drawing lessons from 1880 to 1881 with Wojciech Gerson in Warsaw. From 18 ...

and Michał Sozański. The project was conceived as a patriotic commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the victorious Battle of Racławice, a famous episode of the Kościuszko Insurrection, a heroic but ultimately failed attempt to defend Polish independence. The battle was fought on 4 April 1794 between the insurrectionist force of regulars and peasant volunteers ( armed with scythes) under Kościuszko (1746–1817) himself and the Russian army commanded by General Alexander Tormasov. For the nation which had lost its independence, the memory of this glorious victory was particularly important. The

General National Exhibition in Lviv The General National Exhibition in Lviv ( Polish: ''Powszechna Wystawa Krajowa we Lwowie'') was a national exposition held in 1894 in the city of Lviv (Polish: ''Lwów'') on the centenary of the Kościuszko Uprising. Its aim was to showcase the eco ...

, in 1894, offered an excellent opportunity to realize Styka's idea. Canvas, woven to order, was bought in Brussels, the specially built rotunda's iron structure (designed by Ludwik Ramułt) in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The rotunda, located in Stryjski Park in Lwów, was ready in July 1893. The huge panoramic painting was executed within 9 months, between August 1893 and May 1894. The official opening was on 5 June 1894. Since the very beginning, the Panorama of the Battle of Racławice attracted enormous attention and brought crowds of tourists to Lwów. On average 75 000 viewers visited it every year. National museum in Wrocław 03

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the painting was brought to Wrocław (formerly Breslau in Germany) along with a part of the collection of the

Ossoliński Institute Ossoliński National Institute ( pl, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, ZNiO), or the Ossolineum is a Polish cultural foundation, publishing house, archival institute and a research centre of national significance founded in 1817 in Lwów (now L ...

. As under the communist regime, the subject was considered politically sensitive, the efforts to have the canvas restored and exhibited, undertaken by successive Volunteer Committees, were successful only after August 1980. Reopened on 14 June 1985, the major attraction of the old Lwów has immediately become the main tourist attraction of Wrocław. Here, contemporary viewers have an opportunity to participate in a unique illusionist spectacle. Today the panorama attracts around 400,000 visitors annually.

Notable visitors

Among the many guests who have visited the panorama are

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

; Beatrix, the Queen of the Netherlands; and

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz (, also , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, ...

, winner of the 1980

Nobel Prize for Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

visited the Racławice panorama on 8 September 1894 and said, "''Imposant. Es hat mich frappirt''"Józef Piątek, Małgorzata Dolistowska, "Panorama racławicka", Wrocław 1988, ("Impressive. It has astonished me").

Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...

, said about this painting, "This is the most beautiful panorama I have ever seen."

Gallery

File:Raclawice Panorama01.jpg File:Raclawice Panorama10.jpg File:Raclawice Panorama09.jpg File:Warsaw Polish Army Museum 2019 P01 Jan Styka Racławice Panorama fragment.jpg, Fragment of Racławice Panorama by Jan Styka from Polish Army Museum File:Panorama Racławic - pocztówka.jpg File:WKossak008.jpg File:Raclawice Panorama08.jpg File:Raclawice Panorama07.jpg File:Raclawice Panorama06.jpg File:Raclawice Panorama05.jpg File:Raclawice Panorama04.jpg File:Raclawice Panorama03.jpg File:Raclawice Panorama02.jpg File:Raclawice Panorama01.jpg

Bibliography

* (Polish, English, German) Józef Piątek, Małgorzata Dolistowska, "Panorama racławicka", Wrocław 1988, * (Polish, English, German, French) Romuald Nowak "Panorama racławicka", Muzeum Narodowe we Wrocławiu 1999/2010, * (Polish) Magdalena Irek-Koszerna "Panorama Racławicka piórem i pędzlem", Wydawnictwo Zet 2010 * (Polish) Krystyna Tyszkowska "Panorama Racławicka : 90 lat niezwykłych dziejów", * (Polish) Józef Grabski "Mała Panorama Racławicka Wojciecha Kossaka i Jana Styki", 2002 IRSA Publishing House, * (Polish) Franciszek Ziejka, "Panorama Racławicka", Wydawnictwo: K.A.W. 1984,

References

External links