Illusions – The Panorama and the Optical Illusion

Marquard Wocher’s Thun Panorama—the oldest surviving panoramic painting in the world—transports viewers into the small town of Thun in 1809 through a marvelous illusion. Wocher was a versatile artist who also created transparent images and a distorted version of his Thun Panorama in the form of an anamorphosis. From the magic lantern to modern photography, people have always sought to create illusions to deceive and, above all, enchant others. In devices such as the zoetrope, the thaumatrope, or the magic lantern, inventors applied insights from optics and physics. Illusions offers a glimpse into the possibilities of optical illusions through works from the collection of the Kunstmuseum Thun (Emile Chambon, Balthasar Anton Dunker, Bendicht Fivian, Herbert Distel, Chantal Michel, Marquard Wocher, and others) as well as optical devices from the collection of the Museum Neuhaus in Biel.