The rotunda was designed by the architect in 1911. It has an external diameter of and stands high, with a conical roof. The white painted brick walls of the rotunda are decorated with recessed blind arches separated by Ionic pilasters, and crowned with parapet with a frieze of
palmettes. The entrance porch has two pairs of Tuscan columns supporting a triangular pediment. The rotunda houses an oil-on-canvas painting completed by French artist
Louis Dumoulin in 1912, with 14 canvas panels sewn together to create a cylinder approximately in circumference and high. It is lit from above by a ring of glazing around the edge of the conical roof and is viewed from a high platform at the centre of the rotunda. The painting depicts several different episodes from the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, concentrating on charges by French cavalry. Physical elements in front of the painting, including cut-out figures, fences and bodies made of plaster and
papier mache, disguise the lower edge of the painting and enhance its immersive quality. The building and the painting were protected as historical monuments in 1998. In 2008 the Belgian government proposed that the panorama should be included within a
UNESCO World Heritage Site listing. The Waterloo Panorama is one of few original panoramas that have survived and which are still exhibited in their original location. Other panoramas of the Battle of Waterloo, by
Charles Verlat,
Paul Philippoteaux and have been lost. File:Waterloo panorama museum.JPG|The rotunda as seen from the Lion's Mound File:Panorama de la Bataille de Waterloo 02.JPG|The entrance File:Belgium-6745C - Marshal Ney (14154954584).jpg|Painting detail:
Marshal Ney of France leading a charge File:Belgium-6756 - Duke of Wellington - back right (14152047342).jpg|Painting detail: the
Duke of Wellington and his staff (top right) sheltering from French
cuirassiers in a square of Highland infantry ==See also==