Gettysburg Greg
First Sergeant
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2010
- Location
- Decatur, Illinois
As some of you probably know, before French artist Paul Philippoteaux began his great Gettysburg Cyclorama in 1882, he interviewed countless veterans and commissioned photographer William Tipton to take a series of photographs creating a 360° view from the intended focal point of the painting near The Angle. The artist used the photos as a model and was careful to match details from the photos into the painting. To illustrate, I put Tipton's photo of the area inside The Angle together with the matching section of the Cyclorama shown below. For orientation, Tipton's camera is looking west from a platform on Hancock Avenue. The fence line running away from the camera terminates right at The Angle. I am also including a similar modern view thanks to google street view. The Codori farm appears in all three images at top left. The man on the horse as well as the man coming across the wall were placed there to provide perspective for the artist. I mentioned the artist's attention to detail, notice the furrowed ground in the photo is also seen in the painting. The activity depicted in the painting is a moment in time from the last few minutes of Pickett's Charge.