The Hague - Mesdag Panorama

 
At Zeestraat 65B is the Mesdag Panorama, the largest of its kind in the world. Housed in a rotunda, this gigantic picture, 120m/130yd long by 14m/45ft high, was painted by H. W. Mesdag and his wife Sientje Mesdag-Van Houten, together with G. H. Breitner, B. J. Blommers and Th. de Bock. It depicts Scheveningen as it was around 1880, with charming views of the sea, the beach and the dunes.

Must-see attractions nearby:
Panoramas, the "cinema of the 19th century", were the first optical medium designed to create an illusion of three-dimensional effect. The circular painting is indirectly lit from above, the light source remaining out of sight. Between the picture and the spectator is an intervening area - in this case dune sand - with real objects or mock-ups of real buildings to heighten the illusion, leaving the spectator with no point of reference in reality.

The production of panoramas was a costly business. The artists, directed by a team leader, copied on to canvas fixed to scaffolding the sketches which they had made in the field.
Address: Mesdag Panorama, Zeestraat 65
Postbus 85426, The Hague, Zuid-Holland 2508 CD, Netherlands
Hours:
10am-5pm; Sun: 12pm-5pm
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Facilities: Gift shop, Restaurant or food service
Transit: Tram: 7, 8; Bus: 4, 5, 13, 22.

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