Bourbaki Panorama, Lucerne (must see)

The Bourbaki Panorama is a 360-degree circular painting created in the late nineteenth century, housed in a round building designed specifically for this format. The artwork depicts the winter of 1871, when the French Army of the East retreated into Switzerland during the final phase of the Franco-Prussian War. More than eighty thousand soldiers crossed the border in harsh conditions and were disarmed and sheltered by the Swiss. The painting captures this moment at a scale that surrounds the viewer, blending painted canvas with three-dimensional foreground elements such as snow-covered props and wooden structures.

The artist, Édouard Castres, had served as a Red Cross volunteer during the events he later painted. His direct experience shapes the work’s tone: the figures are shown in exhaustion and uncertainty, and the landscape conveys a sense of cold, heavy air. Castres used detailed observation to portray clothing, medical equipment, sleds, and makeshift shelters. The painting was meant not only as an artistic achievement but also as a record of humanitarian action, emphasizing the support offered by Swiss civilians and officials as they received the retreating army.

The panorama building itself was part of a broader European trend to create immersive visual experiences before the rise of cinema. Its circular form and upper lighting allow the canvas to be seen without visible edges. Visitors stand on a central platform, with the image rising above and below their line of sight. This presentation was intended to blur the boundary between viewer and scene, giving a sense of stepping into the historical moment rather than simply observing it.

In the twentieth century the panorama underwent periods of decline and restoration. Today it is integrated into a cultural complex that includes exhibition areas explaining the historical context and the development of panoramic art. The presentation highlights themes of refuge, neutrality, and humanitarian response, linking the nineteenth-century episode to broader Swiss history. Despite changes in display techniques over time, the core experience remains centered on the immersive quality of Castres’ work and the moment it commemorates.