Anamorphic orientation panorama

An engraved version (lithography) of the panoramic view of the Austrian city of Graz, seen from the Schlossberg. Most likely, this engraving was made at the same time that the painting of this panorama was created, the work of the Austrian painter Carl Reichert, in order to serve as a plan of orientation or souvenir to the people who attended. The panorama spectacle was patented by the Irish painter Robert Barker in London in 1787. It consisted of a large building or cabin built expressly and often in a circular shape, inside which an immense 360-degree painted canvas was placed and where a landscape, a battlefield, etc. had been depicted, which was illuminated with natural and/or artificial light. The audience entered the interior of the room through a dark, narrow corridor, finally accessing the centre of the building, on a raised platform and completely surrounded by the painting. In this way, the viewer had the feeling of being somewhere else, surrounded by the image of the panorama, and imagined that they were part of the landscape. The effect created by the panoramas made a strong impression on audiences, and became the most credible visual illusion that had ever been seen up to that time. It was possibly the first immersive visual spectacle in history.