Group seeks home for historic Battle of Murten panorama painting

Huge panorama paintings like the Battle of Murten were fashionable at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Keystone-SDA

Ahead of the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Murten next year, a group of enthusiasts is seeking a new home for the monumental historic painting that depicts the victory near Bern of the Swiss cantons over the Duke of Burgundy, “Charles the Bold”, in 1476.

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The Foundation for the Panorama of the Battle of Murten (1476), the town of Murten in western Switzerland, the Association of Friends of the Panorama and several local institutions are joining forces to seek a permanent exhibition site for Louis Braun’s masterpiece, painted in 1893, they announced last week. “Today, the committed players are joining forces to offer the panorama a showcase worthy of its status,” a press release stated.

Classified as a Swiss cultural asset of national importance by the Federal Office of Culture, the Panorama of the Battle of Murten is a “unique testimony to the immersive pictorial art of the 19th century”. It illustrates a key page in Swiss and European history. “Finding an ideal location will be a stimulating challenge,” say the enthusiasts.

The search for a permanent home for the panorama painting has been at a standstill for many years.

Adapted environment

Their goal is to integrate the huge panorama painting, which measures 100 x 10 metres and weighs 1.5 tonnes, into a suitable environment, close to tourists and other cultural attractions. “The stakes are also economic: such a project involves substantial investment and will require a mixed financing strategy to ensure its long-term viability,” they say.

The overall aim is to find a site in the Murten region by the end of next year at the latest. The panorama must be integrated into Murten and the project must harmonise with the old town, without distorting it. A delicate balance that requires “vision and precision”. A task force for the Murten site, headed by the Panorama Foundation, has been set up to steer the process.

Its role is to coordinate efforts, define a rigorous approach and guarantee the transparency of the process. A declaration of intent to support the process was also signed by the institutions involved. The support of cantonal and federal authorities will be sought in the early stages of the project.

Murtenschlacht Panorama [Panorama of the Battle of Murten] is a huge circular painting depicting the victory near Bern of the Swiss cantons over the Duke of Burgundy, “Charles the Bold”, in 1476. Produced by the German painter Louis Braun in 1893, the 10m x 100 m canvas is stocked on several giant rolls each weighing 700 kg.

The panorama was visible inside a huge monolith, a metal structure built by the French architect Jean Nouvel, on Lake Murten during Expo 02 in Switzerland in 2002.

Adapted from French by DeepL/sb

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