History of the Diorama

The diorama became a highly admired and esteemed form of entertainment in the 18th century for fans of the theater.

Its invention is attributed to Philippe Jacques de Loutherbour, in the year 1781, in the city of London, as an alternative form of the renowned and famous Panoramas.

Its inventor had the idea of ​​turning these dioramas, or decorations, into a real show. In this search he created in 1822, together with his friend Bouton, a series of highly colorful realistic montages, which they would baptize with this name.

In their historical origins they were huge murals with translucent canvases painted with opaque colors.

The dioramas achieved the effect of impressing the spectators, thanks to the different landscapes, magnitudes and the three-dimensional effect that the space in which they were presented achieved with said murals.

The performance or performance lasted approximately 15 minutes. Afterwards, the stage turned in on itself, allowing viewers to see the other side of the painting.

As we already said, the dioramas managed to stand out a lot for their realism, as well as for the dynamic effect that they constantly produced with the penetrating play of lights that imitated the sunset, the lunar cycles or the action of the clouds.

In the same way, it generated some impressive plane or panorama effects that looked very striking in the eyes of the viewer.

Types of Diorama

There are three fundamental forms of diorama:

• The so-called open dioramas, which are made so that the viewer can observe them from different perspectives or angles.
• The so-called box dioramas , which are structured inside a box with changing magnitudes, which have a lateral surface and behind them a base or foundation is painted that sets the scene for the different silhouettes or prints represented.
• Those that receive the name of book dioramas , which are assembled in a flat way resembling the pages of a volume and that at the moment of opening it the mounted silhouettes stand out from the base.

Parts of the diorama

The bottom

It consists of the drawing that constitutes the space in which the action of the scene is going to be represented.

It could be formed by different planes that simulate a notion of depth or be drawn in perspective to generate the same result.

The scene

It comes to constitute the action or the fundamental reason of the dioramas and could be formed by several silhouettes or prints.

The basic or essential ones that make up the core of the argument and the secondary ones whose function is to complete the scene. The latter come to be animals, objects, human beings, furniture, etc.

figures

They are usually drawn exclusively for the diorama and are some prints or silhouettes that are part of the entire staging of this show.

In general, they are drawn or glued on top of the cardboard or cardboard, which will then be cut out and, finally, what is called a back foot is added, so that they can stay on top of the floor or the physical base of the Show.

Steps for the elaboration of a Diorama

choice of theme

The first thing to do is choose a theme or motif on which the diorama will revolve. A context must be built around the theme that is going to be represented.

Investigation

After the selection of the topic, a very broad and in-depth investigation must be carried out on the chosen thematic issue.

sketch

A small sketch or sketch must be made that reflects the appearance that the diorama is expected to have, including the foreground and its base.

Material’s list

A detailed list must be prepared with all the materials that are going to be used in the preparation of the diorama and gather them for the moment of beginning the work, always keeping in mind that these materials will vary depending on the selected theme.

choose a container

Due to the simple fact that the dioramas are composed in their basic structure of many layers that serve as a base, a box or container with several centimeters deep must be chosen, so that these layers can fit perfectly.

build the stage

To build the stage, you must first create the base or background of the entire system and start working towards the front, adding layers of small fragments with the express objective of creating a sensation of depth on the stage.