Two hundred years ago the first virtual-reality experiences were born in Edinburgh, not from digital technologies, but from the mastery of painted perspective, the control of space and light and an understanding of the psychology of human perception. The world’s first panorama, a dramatic Edinburgh cityscape dating back to 1788, is on display in a free public exhibition in Edinburgh. In a 21st century twist, viewers will get to experience the painting using a virtual reality headset, bringing the Georgian skyline to life with immersive techniques.
The Barker Panorama of Edinburgh from Calton Hill is rarely on public show and is just one of the pieces in the exhibition Panoramas: The World in 360°. The work spans more than three metres and offers a 360-degree vantage of the city with the Pentlands and the Forth in the distance.
The University of Edinburgh Library show includes a viewing rotunda, allowing visitors to appreciate the full scope of the innovative cylindrical paintings. Artist Robert Barker, originally from Ireland, first created his panorama with the help of his son, Henry Aston Barker, and was granted a patent for his invention of “an entire view of any country or situation as it appears…so as to make observers feel as if really on the very spot.” The Barkers went on to form a company and showed their works at a purpose-built rotunda in London London’s Leicester Square which created a sensation in the early 1790s and, over a span of 70 years, showed scenes from London to New Zealand that were so realistic they reportedly made Queen Charlotte “feel sea-sick”.
Exciting moment in the city’s urban history
Exhibition organisers say the Barker panorama captures an exciting moment in the city’s urban history as it shows the first gridded streets that would form the planned Georgian New Town, alongside its medieval Old Town. Amongst the other historic gems on show are a celebrated print of Constantinople, and the royal patent awarded to Robert Barker by King George III in 1787. The exhibition is now open at the University of Edinburgh Library on George Square. It will run until the end of September and forms part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.
Elizabeth Quarmby Lawrence, Rare Books and Literary Collections Curator at the University of Edinburgh Library, said: “The panorama was astonishing to its original audiences, who were often overcome by the realism of the experience. We are hoping that this exhibition will capture a little of the original magic, and make it easier to imagine seeing it through their eyes.”
The exhibition explores the panorama’s history and gives visitors a chance to taste the experience of its very first visitors. Zita Takacs, University of Edinburgh student and uCreate Makerspace Student Technician, added: “Smartphones have made panoramas easy for us all to capture and to share but they were really cutting-edge at the time of invention. I hope that virtual reality will inject the sense of immersion into the painting that was felt by viewers in the 18th century.”
Main photo: Conservator Amanda Dodd makes repairs to one of the panoramas on display: Henry Aston Barker’s Panorama of Constantinople.