Atlanta Cyclorama gets some competition from Gettysburg

The Atlanta Cyclorama, a mammoth, in-the-round depiction of the July 22, 1864, Battle of Atlanta, is billed as the largest oil painting in the world. But now there is a new kid on the block. The newly renovated Gettysburg Cyclorama, which will open to the public at the historic Pennsylvania battlefield in September, has been restored to its original 42 feet in height and 377 feet in circumference. That trumps the Atlanta painting by about 798 square feet.

Atlanta's cyclorama was originally 50-by-400 feet when it was painted in 1885-86, but damage over the years has reduced the total area to 42-by-358-feet.

Both are impressive works of art — paintings embellished with dioramas that create a 3-D effect. Both depict battles that were not only turning points in the Civil War, but of lasting significance to the communities in which they occurred. Both are rare survivors of an era when monumental paintings would tour the country and draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to experience a sort of 19th century Imax. And they are the only two such cycloramas on display in this country.