The Panorama Museum in Bad Frankenhausen, Germany, is a treasure for Fantastic painting. The building houses the the monumental painting "Early Bourgeois Revolution in Germany" (1983-1987) by the artist Werner Tübke (1929 – 2004). The painting is a massive 14 x 123m panorama painted in the Old Masters techniques. The visual effect of this work is stunning to behold and towers above you when you enter the circular chamber that houses it. Only the painting itself is lit, heightening it's effect. In every direction one turns there are new details to behold. It is unlike other gallery experiences where one may invest a few minutes observing a painting before moving onto the next. It is totally immersive in that no matter where you turn you are surrounded.

Tübke was commissioned by the East German Government to create an artwork to celebrate a peasant's uprising in the 1500's. The scale of the painting was chosen for him, as government officials wanted to out do a similar project in Moscow. Originally Tübke declined, but later agreed under certain conditions. The project took him several years to research and prepare for, and then another two years to produce a 1:10 scaled version of the planned painting. He then laboured over the painting with a team of artists between 1983 to 1987 to complete it. In the end it impacted on his health, and spent the final nine months working with out a day off.

Original woodblock prints from around the era of the uprising were used as reference material, and ultimately the style. The challenge was compose a picture with out beginning or end, where all scenes overlapped into a circular whole. The final effect is like that of Hieronymus Bosch or Pieter Bruegel, and both seemingly have some influence on Tübke's work. It is an apocalyptic vision reflecting what inspired the medieval mind of Thomas Müntzer, who led the peasants revolt to its fateful and bloody end.

The painting is a comment on the social upheavals of the time, the philosophical inspirations, and the moral decay. Like Bosh, fantastic creatures populate the landscape, and symbolism abounds. The painting is a classic of modern Fantastic painting, worthy of it's Old Masters predecessors.

The museum also has works in its collection from other modern painters who work figuratively in the Old Masters traditions. It is through the link to the Old Masters, that the museum has also exhibited a number of well known Fantastic painters, such as Rudolf Hausner, Heinz Zander, and Beksinski. There has also been an exhibition dedicated to classic surrealists.

A visit to this hidden treasure of Germany will leave you inspired. More information about about the museum can be found it's web site panorama-museum.de.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 16th, 2007 at 7:20 am by Leo Plaw
Categories: Galleries Museums, Paintings.
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