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Dioramas
19th-Century 3-D Pictures from the Jürgen Glanz Collection and other collections

13.05.2006 to 16.07.2006

Museum Europäischer Kulturen
Museum Europäischer Kulturen

An exhibition of the Altonaer Museum in Hamburg

With this exhibition, the Museum Europäischer Kulturen (Museum of European Cultures) offers an insight into the world of optical illusions. Including around 150 objects from the 19th century - among them historical dioramas, 3-D postcards, stereoscopic photographs and see-through pictures - it illuminates the subjects of travel, perception and remembrance. In the 19th century, the play with optical effects was a popular pastime; it involved experimentation with light and shade or with tricks of perspective. In the diorama, a model placed in a viewing box, it was possible to create images of real-life three-dimensionality. Whole landscapes were rebuilt and vividly brought to life in their little framed boxes. Tourist destinations in Bohemia and Silesia were a particular favourite among the representations.