Mesdag stamp: "The painting has strange dimensions!"

Jaap Termes's reaction to the Mesdag stamp (nvph 1632) in the article of Sunday, June 23, 2024: “The painting has strange dimensions. That is how one never arrives at 1680 square meters” calls for some additional information. I hope that this will lead to the stamp image being viewed with a little more understanding and knowledge. Perhaps the stamp image might even be appreciated by a few people.

NVPH 1632 – Panorama Mesdag

On this extra-large stamp image, the curvature of the panorama comes across even more convincingly. I hereby make use of the statement by graphic designer Haico Beukers regarding this stamp and add a few sketches for clarification.

• Haico Beukers: “It is not a reproduction of the painting, but an illusion (dream image) of it. The image (actually a partial image) is heavily distorted on the stamp, so that you get a view of its spatiality / three-dimensionality [length, width & thickness]. It evokes the atmosphere of the real Panorama Mesdag. The silhouettes of spectators also reinforce that spatiality. Three tourists refer to the tourist aspect of the Panorama.”
• With this, the designer presents a personal dream image, utopia, or vision of a part of the curved panoramic painting. After all, it is impossible to give a complete picture of a circular painting.

Suppose it is a flat, two-dimensional painting (as is usual with only length and width) and a viewer stands to the left of the painting, provided that their eye is at the same height as the painting's horizon. When this person looks at the painting, the accompanying schematic sketch is created. Due to this viewing direction, the accompanying perspectival change of the painting occurs before them. Now try performing the same activity at home half a meter next to a painting. It is striking that both lines converge at an angle. Suppose you perform the same operation with a curved section of the Mesdag painting; the leftmost part is identical to that of the flat painting. However, due to the curved shape, the change in perspective on the painting will be entirely different. Every single straight line becomes a curved line. The result? Jaap Termes (unbelievable regarding the surface area of ​​1680 square meters) observes in astonishment: “Strange dimensions!”