Gettysburg Cyclorama: A Digital Annotation

Document Type

Digital Project

Date of Creation

Fall 2018

Department 1

History

Abstract

The massive Gettysburg Cyclorama painting, measuring 42 feet high and 377 feet in circumference, has immersed visitors in the fury of the battle since its completion in 1884. Painted by a team headed by French artist Paul Philippoteaux, the canvas depicts the bloody clash at the Angle, the culmination of the fighting at Gettysburg, through visual mechanisms that make the landscape appear to stretch on for miles, positioning the viewer at the center of the action. From this page, visitors are invited to explore the convoluted history of the painting, from years of sold-out crowds to neglect on a backlot to its current position as the centerpiece of the exhibit at the Gettysburg National Military Park and Visitor Center, and to visually trace the many stories embedded in the canvas. These digital explorations of the Cyclorama painting – using TimelineJS and StoryMapJS and embedded in Scalar – were created by students in Gettysburg College’s Fall 2018 HIST 301: Introduction to Public History course, taught by Prof. Jill Ogline Titus. These projects could never have been completed without the generous assistance and advice provided by painting historian Sue Boardman, Leadership Program Director for the Gettysburg Foundation and co-author of two books on the Cyclorama painting, the creative and technical guidance (and photography skills) of R.C. Miessler, Systems Librarian, Musselman Library, and the digital artistry of Julia Wall ’18. [excerpt]

Comments

Created by the students of History 301: Introduction to Public History.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS