Panorama of the Battle of Racławice
The painting present the Battle of Racławice in April 1794, in which Poles won over Russians. The monumental picture is 114m long and 15m high and was painted on the 100th anniversary of the victory.It was the idea of Jan Styka, a painter from Lvov, who invited among others Wojciech Kossak, Tadeusz Popiel, Teodor Axentowicz, Włodzimierz Tetmajer to work on the painting.The work took 9 months to finish. A rotunda with Panorama of the Battle of Racławice (Panorama Racławicka), built in Stryjeński Park, became one of the attractions of Lvov.The technology applied by the authors can be compared to the contemporary 3D technology. Special, panoramic perspective, lighting and scenography constructed in front of the picture make it look multidimensional.After World War II the Panorama of the Battle of Racławice came to Wrocław. For many years it was hidden in storeroom, mainly for political reasons - it shows the victory of Poles against Russians, and back then Poland was under the Soviet Union’s influence.Not until 1980 the works on the new rotunda started, the painting could be seen after 1985. Among the visitors were the Pope John Paul II and the Queen of the Netherlands, Beatrix. In 1987 the prime minister of China Zhao Ziyang was impressed by Panorama of the Battle of Racławice. Two years later, the first Chinese panorama was created, even bigger than the one in Wrocław. It presents the victory of the communists over the army of Kuomitang in 1948. Panorama became a popular tool of promotion of the most important events in the history of communist China. In the next years, over ten panoramas were created.