Franz Alekseyevich Roubaud was a Russian painter who created some of the largest and best known panoramic paintings.
Background
Franz Roubaud was born on 3/15 June 1856 in Odessa to Honoré Fortuné Alexis Roubaud and his wife Madelaine née Sénèquebec Franz was the fourth of five children in a Catholic family. His father was a bookseller and stationer, originally from Marseille.
Education
He studied at the Odessa Drawing School. In 1877 Roubaud went to Munich and studied at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.
Career
He created circular paintings, exposed on a cylindrical surface and viewed from the inside. In this way, the viewers were given an outlook point from a high place, the painting was reproducing the original scene with high fidelity. He then settled in Saint St. Petersburg, working in the Imperial Academy of Arts and painting huge panoramas of historical battles.
In 1904-1912 Roubaud taught at the Saint St. Petersburg Academy of Arts as a professor
During this time he painted the Siege of Sevastopol, a panorama painting. In the mid-19th century, the various panoramic paintings became a fashionable way to depict landscapes and historical events.
The panorama was a 360-degree visual medium patented by the artist Robert Barker in 1787. This was a new thing for the time and for the audiences in Europe of this period theses paintings were a sensation.
The paintings created a new illusion, transporting the viewer into a virtual reality, creating the perception of being physically present in the middle of the events.
When standing in the middle of the 360 degree panorama this created the impression of standing in a new environment. He became renowned thanks to the giant panorama paintings he executed during his lifetime. Roubaud"s works were so large that they required specially built pavilions to exhibit them.
These paintings are one of the few panoramas still extant of a popular 19th century genre.
The viewer stands in the centre of the circular panorama, and observes the various scenes whilst walking around and observing the panorama from different viewing angles. In 1913 Roubaud left Russia for Germany, settling in Munich, where he lived for the rest of his life.
He died on 13 March 1928. Russo-Persian War (1804–1813) - unveiled 1892 Storm of Achulgo – unveiled 1896, 3 fragments remain in the Dagestan museum of fine arts in Makhachkala, Daghestan Siege of Sevastopol (1854) – unveiled in 1905, damaged during the Siege of Sevastopol (1942), restored 1950s Battle of Borodino (1812) – unveiled 1911, moved to Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow in 1962 Sevastopol Panorama Battle of Borodino Panorama Other works.