22.03.2024 – 11:45

New 360° Panorama “The Cathedral of Monet” at the Panometer Leipzig

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New 360° Panorama “The Cathedral of Monet” at the Panometer Leipzig

A new German premiere in Leipzig: the 360° panorama "The Cathedral of Monet – Freedom of Painting" can now be seen at the Panometer Leipzig for the next two years. Painted in the Impressionist style, the work takes visitors back to Rouen in France in the 19th century. Yadegar Asisi is breaking new ground in his oeuvre: for the first time, a panorama has been painted entirely in oil on canvas before being digitally enlarged and printed onto fabric for a 360-degree installation. With Impressionism, Asisi has dedicated himself to one of the most important artistic periods of our time and offers an insight into his own 30-year artistic career. At the same time, the Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig is presenting an immersive digital art exhibition on Monet that follows the two main elements of Impressionism: colour and light. The digital show, called “Claude Monet: Master of Colours and Lights", is a perfect complement and will be on display until June 2024.

Uniqueness and Creation of the Panoramic Artwork – The Cathedral of Monet

The 3,500-square-metre panorama can be viewed from several levels of the 15-metre-high observation tower, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in an experience of vivid brushstrokes and a unique interplay of colour and light. The scenery opens up as if you were standing on the Cathedral Square in Rouen in 1894: the setting sun almost completely illuminates the façade of Notre-Dame de Rouen Cathedral in the centre and casts a warm light on the forecourt and the houses already in shadow. An extraordinary play of colours, shades and light penetrates the entire environment. Asisi immortalises famous painters and contemporaries such as Vincent van Gogh, Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet on the square in front of the cathedral.

The starting point for the work is a 6 x 2 metre canvas on which Yadegar Asisi has reconstructed the cathedral with its surrounding square and houses. It is based on a famous series of paintings by Claude Monet, made between 1892 and 1894, in which he captured the cathedral of Rouen several times in different light conditions. In the extensive accompanying exhibition featuring numerous works by Asisi, the artist explores the tension between painting, craftsmanship and digitalisation, but above all his experience of the senses and the world. He reflects on the interplay between art and technology in the context of social progress: just as Impressionism marked the beginning of an era that Asisi describes as the "liberation of painting", today’s developments are leading to the "freedom of painting".

The Panometer Leipzig is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm. Tickets are available online or on site from 14 euros at https://www.panometer.de/en/homepage .

Digital Art Exhibition – Claude Monet: Masters of Colours and Lights

Until June 2024, visitors to Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig can immerse themselves in a world of light, colour, music and movement. Monet's art is reinterpreted in a playful and creative way in immersive multimedia shows, installations and spaces on the old factory site.

The show begins with a brief introduction to Monet's life and work. Claude Monet began to paint impressionist pictures in the late 1860s. His work "Impression, Sunrise" - a view of the port of Le Havre - gave the Impressionist movement its name. The Impressionists left their studios and painted in nature, trying to capture the moment. In the next room of the Kunstkraftwerk, guests can watch the 40-minute performance in which multimedia artist Stefano Fake (The FAKE Factory) has transformed more than 300 of Monet’s paintings and sketches into 17 different scenes. 24 projectors project the impressive art onto the walls and floor throughout the space. Visitors will be able to experience Monet's most important works, his use of light and colour, and the most important places in his life - Paris, the boulevard, the theatre, the cathedral of Rouen and the garden of Gyverny - in a completely new and up-close way. The impressions, works and scenes are accompanied by a variety of musical genres.

In the next room, DeReal Studio’s impressive animation show "Monet Dreamscapes" takes Monet's classic art to the digital extreme, playing with light and colour. One of his paintings is digitally projected and deconstructed pixel by pixel, as if in a small visual frenzy. The Impressionist idea of capturing light and colour becomes a visual flow of animation and music. In the basement of the Kunstkraftwerk, visitors can then view installations in several rooms that are inspired by Monet and use many aspects or examples of his work for their own artistic expression. As well as the popular selfie spots, there is also an installation inspired by the street artist Banksy. He has recreated Monet's famous work "Le Bassin aux Nymphéas" using rubbish and shopping trolleys. This exact scene has now been recreated. Art lovers can walk through the installation themselves, including the bridge and shopping trolley.

Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig in the west of the city is open Thursday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. Tickets are available online from 15 euros at https://www.kunstkraftwerk-leipzig.com/de/ .

Background to Leipzig’s Industrial Culture

Traces of Leipzig’s industrial past can still be seen throughout the city. Many former factories have been restored in recent decades and converted into new cultural venues. The Panometer Leipzig in the south and the Kunstkraftwerk in the creative west are two particularly unique examples.

Since 2003, Yadegar Asisi’s panoramas have been on display in the historic gasometer of Leipzig’s public utility company. This is where the panorama renaissance began. “The Cathedral of Monet" is already the eighth 360° panorama to be presented in the Leipzig Panometer. In addition to Leipzig, other panoramas by the artist can be seen in Berlin, Dresden, Lutherstadt Wittenberg and Pforzheim.

In 2016, the former thermal power plant in Leipzig was transformed into a centre for digital and contemporary art. Since then, Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig has been hosting international exhibitions, symposia, readings, concerts, parties and culinary delights over 2,000 square metres. The Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig is located just a few metres from the Spinnerei art centre, a former cotton mill that now houses numerous art galleries and exhibition spaces.

Further Information

Are you interested in a media trip to get an authentic impression of the Leipzig Region and its diverse facets? Please feel free to contact us and let us know about your topics. Further information is available at www.leipzig.travel/press

Dana Marschner
Head of International PR
 
Phone +49 341 7104-333 • Fax +49 341 7104-344
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