BÖTTGER, Georg (1821-1901)

Panorama der K. Haupt-u.-Residenz-Stadt München. Aufgenommen in der Vogelperspective vom Sct. Petersthurme aus, zur Zeit des 700 jährigen Jubilaeums 1858

Munich: 1858. Overall size: 20 3/4 x 178 inches. 11 large-format collodion dry plate photographs, mounted on card accordion-style with linen joints to form a 360 degree panoramic view of Munich, titled on the mount below the image and with the photographer's name in contemporary manuscript at the lower right.

Folds into a cloth chemise within morocco-backed box with gilt spine and raised bands

An early photographic panorama of Munich, taken from the tower of St. Peter’s Church in 1858 and assembled from multiple collodion prints to form a continuous 360-degree view of the city.

Executed less than two decades after the invention of photography, the panorama belongs to the formative period of panoramic practice, when photographers assembled multiple negatives to extend the descriptive reach of the medium beyond the limits of a single view. Produced on the occasion of Munich's 700th anniversary, and taken from the tower of St. Peter's Church, Böttger's work adapts an established topographical format to photography, constructing a continuous prospect of the city from a sequence of large-format images. It records the urban fabric of mid nineteenth century Munich, including its principal churches, civic buildings, and surrounding districts, at a moment of civic celebration and modernisation. Böttger's panorama ranks among the earliest large-scale photographic representations of a German city and is likely the first photographic panorama of Munich. The scale of the present example, extending to nearly fifteen feet, places it among the more ambitious panoramic constructions of its time. Its production reflects both technical command and a documentary impulse, preserving a detailed urban record while also demonstrating the capacity of photography, still a relatively new medium, to rival earlier engraved and drawn panoramic views in scale and comprehensiveness. Georg Böttger, trained as an engraver and lithographer, turned to photography around 1850 and produced portraits, architectural studies, and documentary images of engineering works. His participation in exhibitions and his later appointment as photographer to the Bavarian court indicate his established position within the photographic culture of the region. The present panorama stands among his most ambitious undertakings, both for its scale and for the complexity of its construction, and remains an important example of early urban photography in Germany.

Item #31313

Price: $30,000.00