is a panoramic painting
of the surroundings of
, a fishing port close to The Hague
, The Netherlands
The painting was created by the Dutch artist Hendrik Willem Mesdag
Panoramic paintings are "paintings without
borders"; they give a 360 degree trompe l'oeil of a landscape,
city, or historical event. This style of painting dates back to the end
of the 18th century and became highly popular at the end of the 19th
century. Common themes for panoramic paintings include battle scenes
(The battle of Waterloo was painted many times), naval wars, biblical
scenes, and landscapes from countries far abroad. These panoramic scenes
allowed spectators to get a glimpse of Egypt, India or the city of
Jeruzalem without a long and arduous travel. At the end of the 19th
century, many cities throughout Europe had rotundas for the
display of panoramic paintings. All rotundas had more or less
standardized dimensions, which allowed for the exchange of the panoramic
paintings. However, around 1900 this form of art was no longer
fashionable due to the increasing popularity of film and
In 1880, the Société Anonyme du Panorama de la
Haye was founded in Brussels, an important center for panoramic
painting. The goal of this foundation was the development of a sea
panorama of the surroundings of The Hague. The foundation approached
the painter Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831-1915) who had achieved
international recognition for his naval works and paintings of the
beach of Scheveningen. Mesdag also knew several influential painters
in Belgium (including his cousin* Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema) who may
have helped him to obtain the assignment.
Mesdag accepted the assignment for a generous salary. Because of his
fame, he also obtained the liberty of choosing the location that was to
be portrayed, and he was allowed to select several associates for the
project. Not everyone was pleased that Mesdag accepted the work. For
instance, Pulchri the leading artists society of the Hague School of which Mesdag was a member (and later chairman) considered
panoramic painting an inferior form of art, since it was merely trying
to "copy reality". Nevertheless, the project moved forward. Mesdag
selected a rather controversial location for his work:
Seinpostduin, a place that was recently excavated for the
construction of a restaurant to attract more tourism to the beach-- this
plan was heavily criticized by painters of the Hague School. As a
result, Panorama Mesdag offers us an interesting view on
Scheveningen before tourism and large-scale fishery took over.
Mesdag starts his work in April 1881. Painting the panorama was a
race against the clock, since it was to be opened already in August,
1881. This job was far too big for Mesdag to do by himself; he hired his
wife, the painter Sientje Mesdag-van Houten, George Hendrik
Breitner, Theophile de Bock, B.J. Blommers and A. Nijberck to assist
him. Mesdag painted the beach and the "bommen", the local fishing
boats. The other painters were assigned to various tasks of the project.
Especially Breitner and his wife were major contributors to the painting.
An interesting detail: Mesdag's wife Sientje is portrayed in the
panorama sitting on the beach, behind her easel.
On August 1, 1881 the panorama is opened to the public. The work was
praised by the general audience and even the initially sceptical artists
society Pulchri. Unfortunately, the entrance fee for the work proved
to be too high and already in 1885 the foundation of the Panorama
Mesdag was close to bankrupcy. On May 3 1886, Mesdag buys his own
work at an auction and this may be the single reason that the panorama
still exists today.
The Panorama Mesdag is one of the largest and finest surviving
panoramas. The circular painting has an area of 1680 m2
(18000 ft2), a height of 14 m (46 ft), and a circumference of
120 m (394 ft). You enter the panorama via a narrow, circular staircase
in the center. Once you are inside the panorama, you are taken back 120
years in time. The illusion is almost perfect.
The Hague, The Netherlands
*My Dutch source mentions "neef", which is unfortunately an ambiguous
word for either cousin or nephew. But since Alma-Tadema and Mesdag
were only 5 years apart in age, I am assuming they were cousins. Can
anyone confirm this?
- http://www.mesdag.nl/ - The official Panorama Mesdag
Website. You can download a really cool screensaver of the panorama!
- http://www.mesdag.com/ - Mesdag Documentation Society
- cool interactive views of the panorama
- Ad van der Blom, Ernest Kurpershoek, Claudia Thunnissen, Nederlandse
Schilderkunst, Icob (1997).