diorama

Diorama of the Battle of Berlin in 1/35th scale

The word diorama can either refer to a nineteenth century mobile theatre device, or, in modern usage, a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle modeling, miniature figure modeling or aircraft modeling.

The modern diorama

The current, popular understanding of the term “diorama” denotes a partially three-dimensional, full-size replica or scale model of a landscape typically showing historical events, nature scenes or cityscapes, for purposes of education or entertainment.

Miniature dioramas are typically much smaller, and use scale models and landscaping to create historical or fictional scenes. Such a scale-model based diorama is used, for example, in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry to display railroading. This diorama employs a common model railroading scale of 1:87 (HO scale). Hobbyist dioramas often use popular scales such as 1/35 or 1/48.

Frank M. Chapman, a curator at the American Museum of Natural History during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, helped popularize the full-size style commonly seen today. Shepard Paine, a prominent hobbyist, popularized the modern miniature diorama beginning in the 1970s.

Full size dioramas

A diorama in the Museum of Natural history in Milan (Italy).

Modern museum dioramas may be seen in most major natural history museums. Typically, these displays use a tilted plane to represent what would otherwise be a level surface, a painted background of distant objects, and often employ false perspective, carefully modifying the scale of objects placed on the plane to reinforce the illusion through depth perception of viewing a larger space—representations of objects (of identical real-world size) placed further from the observer are smaller than those closer. Often the distant painted background or sky will be painted upon a continuous curved surface so that the viewer is not distracted by corners, seams, or edges. All of these techniques are means of presenting a realistic view of a large scene in a compact space. A photograph or single-eye view of such a diorama can be especially convincing since in this case there is no distraction by the binocular perception of depth.

Miniature dioramas

Miniature diorama of a knocked-out Panther tank

Miniature dioramas may be used to represent scenes from historic events. A typical example of this type are the dioramas to be seen at Norway's Resistance Museum in Oslo, Norway.

Landscapes built around model railways, although they often have to compromise scale accuracy for better operating characteristics, can also be considered dioramas.

Hobbyists also build dioramas of historical or quasi-historical events using a variety of materials, including plastic models of military vehicles, ships or other equipment, along with scale figures and landscaping.

In the 19th and beginning 20th century, building dioramas of sailing ships had been a popular handcraft of seamen. Building a diorama instead of a normal model had the advantage, that the model was protected inside the frame and it could easily be stowed below the bunk or behind the sea chest. Nowadays, such antique sailing ship dioramas are valuable collectors items.

One of the largest Dioramas ever created^{[citation needed]} was a model of the entire state of California built for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and that for a long time was installed in San Francisco's Ferry Building.

Historic dioramas

Daguerre's Diorama

The Diorama was a popular entertainment that originated in Paris in 1822. An alternative to the also popular "Panorama" (panoramic painting), the Diorama was a theatrical experience viewed by an audience in a highly specialized theatre. As many as 350 patrons would file in to view a landscape painting that would change its appearance both subtly and dramatically. Most would stand, though limited seating was provided. The show lasted 10 to 15 minutes, after which time the entire audience (on a massive turntable) would rotate to view a second painting. Later models of the Diorama theater even held a third painting.

The size of the proscenium was 24 feet (7.3 m) wide by 21 feet (6.4 m) high (7.3 meters x 6.4 meters). Each scene was hand-painted on linen, which was made transparent in selected areas. A series of these multi-layered, linen panels were arranged in a deep, truncated tunnel, then illuminated by sunlight re-directed via skylights, screens, shutters, and colored blinds. Depending on the direction and intensity of the skillfully manipulated light, the scene would appear to change. The effect was so subtle and finely rendered that both critics and the public were astounded, believing they were looking at a natural scene.

The inventor and proprietor of the Diorama was Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre (1787–1851), formerly a decorator, manufacturer of mirrors, painter of Panoramas, and masterly designer and painter of theatrical stage illusions. Daguerre would later co-invent the daguerreotype, the first widely used method of photography.

Daguerre opened a second Diorama in Regent's Park in London in 1823, a year after the debut of his Paris original. The show was a popular sensation, and spawned immediate imitations. English artists like Clarkson Stanfield and David Roberts produced ever-more elaborate dioramas through the 1830s; sound effects and even living performers were added. Some "typical diorama effects included moonlit nights, winter snow turning into a summer meadow, rainbows after a storm, illuminated fountains," waterfalls, thunder and lightning, and ringing bells.^[1]

Other dioramas

Painters of the Romantic era like John Martin and Francis Danby were influenced to create large and highly dramatic pictures by the sensational dioramas and panoramas of their day. In one case, the connection between life and diorama art became intensely circular. On 1 February 1829, John Martin's brother Jonathan, known as "Mad Martin," set fire to the roof of York Minster. Clarkson Stanfield created a diorama re-enactment of the event, which premiered on 20 April of the same year; it employed a "safe fire" via chemical reaction as a special effect. On 27 May, the "safe" fire proved to be less safe than planned: it set a real fire in the painted cloths of the imitation fire, which burned down the theater and all of its dioramas.^[2]

Nonetheless, dioramas remained popular in England, Scotland, and Ireland through most of the nineteenth century, lasting until 1880.

A small scale version of the diorama called the Polyrama Panoptique could display images in the home. and was marketed from the 1820s.^[3] A diorama painted by Daguerre is currently housed in the church of the French town Bry-sur-Marne, where he lived and died.^[4][5]

See also

• Model military vehicle
• Model figure
• Nativity scene
• Cosmorama
• Cyclorama
• Myriorama
• Panorama
• Panoramic painting
• Planetarium
• Armor Modeling and Preservation Society
• Model railroading

Notes

References

• Helmut and Alison Gernsheim, L.J.M. Daguerre, The History of The Diorama and the Daguerreotype, Dover Publications, 1968.

External links

• R. D. Wood's Essays on the early history of photography and the Diorama
• The world's largest collection of antique sailing ship dioramas
• World War II Dioramas in 1\35 scale

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