Lesson plan
Pleorama
The best-known pleorama was a 19th-century moving panorama entertainment where the viewers sat in a rocking boat while panoramic views on painted canvas rolled past. The word has sometimes been used for other entertainments or innovations. Architect Carl Ferdinand Langhans introduced a pleorama in Breslau in 1831 with scenes of the Bay of Naples on both sides of 24 "voyagers" sitting in a wooden boat floating in a pool of water. The illusion was enhanced by light and sound effects: the boatman singing, Vesuvius erupting. Writer/artist August Kopisch was involved in designing the hour-long show. Carl Wilhelm Gropius, who had a diorama exhibit in Berlin, took over management of this pleorama in 1832, and there was also a pleorama of a journey along the river Rhine. The Swiss writer Bernard Comment, among others, has pointed out the similarities between Langhans' pleorama and the ambitious mareorama at the 1900 Paris Exhibition. A similar idea was used for a London in 1834. Spectators were seated in railway carriages to watch a moving panorama of scenes visible from the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. In 1850s Finland the name pleorama was given to shows which presented historic scenes and panoramic views using glass, but posters for these do not mention anything resembling Langhans' boat concept.
Article summary
The best-known pleorama was a 19th-century moving panorama entertainment where the viewers sat in a rocking boat while panoramic views on painted canvas rolled past. The word has sometimes been used for other entertainments or innovations. Architect Carl Ferdinand Langhans introduced a pleorama in Breslau in 1831 with scenes of the Bay of Naples on both sides of 24 "voyagers" sitting in a wooden boat floating in a pool of water. The illusion was enhanced by light and sound effects: the boatman singing, Vesuvius erupting. Writer/artist August Kopisch was involved in designing the hour-long show. Carl Wilhelm Gropius, who had a diorama exhibit in Berlin, took over management of this pleorama in 1832, and there was also a pleorama of a journey along the river Rhine. The Swiss writer Bernard Comment, among others, has pointed out the similarities between Langhans' pleorama and the ambitious mareorama at the 1900 Paris Exhibition. A similar idea was used for a London in 1834. Spectators were seated in railway carriages to watch a moving panorama of scenes visible from the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. In 1850s Finland the name pleorama was given to shows which presented historic scenes and panoramic views using glass, but posters for these do not mention anything resembling Langhans' boat concept.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.