Diorama Background: Triassic Landscape

A new background had to be created for the Chirother diorama at the Natural History Museum at Bertholdsburg Castle in Schleusingen (Thuringia). However, the relief, along with the life-size models, was to remain in place. So the museum team measured the elevation profile of the ground over a length of more than 8 m and aligned it with the color chart. This resulted in a painting of an Early Triassic desert, including a sandstorm, lycopod stands around small waterholes, a rocky landscape at the margin of the basin, and a cicada-like insect (based on Rhoeniella). Since the area curves towards the edge, printing on a sturdy tarp was a good choice for shipping and installation.

The Chirotherium — or rather, the trackmaker — looks a bit different in the museum than we had imagined it a few years ago.

Sommer, G., Spindler, F. & Scholze, F. (2026): Neues Bild an der Rückwand des Handtier-Dioramas. Semana, 41: 65-67.