European urban panoramic landscapes (1787-1914) (Gravure-lithography-painting-photography)

Panorama is a circular painting invented by Robert Barker, in 1787, with a 360-degree vantage point. Panoramas are widely diversified in subject-matter. City panoramas constitute only a small part of all types of panoramas. Panoramas were exhibited from the late 18th century until the late 19th century, and have attracted a great interest in Europe. In this study, the panoramas of the European cities were examined, the periods before and after the period in question were investigated, and the origins, the emergence and the historical development of the panorama were described in a comprehensive way. From antiquity to the 17th century city views were generally used as a background behind predominant religious and mythological themes in paintings, but they became an independent genre in the 17th century. After the panorama was invented, large panoramas of cities such as Edinburgh, London, Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Istanbul were depicted, and the audiences were fascinated by the appearances of the cities. In gravure art, however, prints of the bird's-eye view were made even before the panorama was invented. But city views created with all kind of techniques, which were made before the invention of the panorama, were described as "panorama" only after the invention. In this thesis a historical perspective were used on the classification of panoramas, and contemporary panoramas were evaluated from this point of view. Today, the term panorama not only defines artworks with a 360-degree panoramic view but is also used to describe more general views. Therefore, it has a very wide area of application. Panorama initiated a new era in art, and with panoramas art gained a new perspective. This new point of view was successfully applied to the new inventions like photography. In 1839, with the invention of photography, photographers started to take city photographs and presented them to the audiences. Nowadays, this enthusiasm for panorama continues, and contemporary photographers produce new city panoramas with the latest technologies.