VIENNA.- Long before smartphones turned every journey into an endless stream of images, photography was already transforming the way people encountered distant places. Beginning July 22, the ALBERTINA explores that history in The World in Focus, an exhibition tracing the development of travel and expedition photography from the mid-19th century through the early decades of color photography.
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On view in the museum’s Tietze Galleries through October 26, 2026, the exhibition brings together 107 photographs from the ALBERTINA’s photographic collection, along with a projection of several early autochromes. Curated by Anna Hanreich, the presentation looks beyond the scenic appeal of travel images to examine the political, scientific, commercial and cultural forces that shaped their production.
Photography and travel became closely linked almost as soon as the medium emerged. Compared with drawing, photography offered a faster and apparently more precise way to document landscapes, monuments, cities and people. Images could also be reproduced and distributed widely, allowing distant territories to enter the public imagination with unprecedented immediacy.
Yet the exhibition makes clear that these photographs were never neutral records. Many were produced during expeditions financed by governments, scientific institutions or commercial interests. Others were created for a growing tourist market eager for views of places that most Europeans would never visit themselves. In both cases, the images often reflected a distinctly Western perspective, shaping ideas about foreign cultures through assumptions that were tied to colonialism, imperial ambition and the conventions of the period.
The exhibition moves across an expansive geography, from the frozen heights of the Alps and the Arctic to Egypt, the Holy Land, Japan, India, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy and Norway. Together, the works show how photography accompanied the expansion of mobility, the growth of tourism and the increasing accessibility of remote regions.
Egypt occupies a prominent place in the exhibition. European fascination with the country intensified after Napoleon Bonaparte’s military campaign of 1798–1801, which helped trigger a widespread wave of “Egyptomania.” By the middle of the 19th century, photographers were traveling along the Nile and documenting ancient monuments, often before they underwent later restoration or alteration. Their images circulated through albums, books and international exhibitions, establishing visual routes that would eventually become familiar tourist itineraries.
Another section focuses on Wilhelm Burger, one of the Habsburg monarchy’s most sought-after expedition photographers. Working at a time when photography required heavy wooden cameras, glass plates, chemicals and portable darkrooms, Burger took part in the Austro-Hungarian East Asia expedition of 1868–69 and later joined a support mission connected to the Austro-Hungarian North Pole expedition. His photographs rank among the earliest images made in the Arctic region.
The exhibition also highlights Raimund von Stillfried-Rathenitz, who established an influential studio in Yokohama in 1871. Stillfried photographed historically important sites around Tokyo and Yokohama during a period of rapid transformation following the Meiji Restoration. His carefully composed landscapes appealed to the growing number of international travelers arriving in Japan and helped define how the country was represented abroad.
Images of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and surrounding areas reveal the close relationship between pilgrimage, politics and the emerging market for travel photography. Photographers such as Christian Paier produced views of sacred sites for European audiences already familiar with biblical narratives. These photographs did more than document religious landmarks; they connected contemporary travel with long-established ideas about history, faith and cultural identity.
Photography also served as a tool of political representation within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878, Josef Löwy was commissioned to document the territory. Rather than concentrating on military action, he photographed roads, infrastructure and landscapes, presenting the occupation through images of modernization and development. Stillfried returned to the region years later, producing more atmospheric scenes of daily life and local dress.
As railway networks expanded during the 19th century, travel became faster and more accessible. Railway companies quickly recognized photography’s promotional power and hired photographers to document stations, bridges, construction projects and the landscapes opened by new routes. These images functioned as corporate records, tributes to engineering and advertisements for destinations that had previously seemed unreachable.
By the end of the century, lighter cameras brought a more personal form of travel photography. Artists and wealthy amateurs began making spontaneous images based on their own interests rather than official assignments. The painter Johann Victor Krämer, for example, carried a portable Kodak camera during travels through Egypt and Palestine between 1898 and 1900, later using some of his photographs as material for paintings.
The arrival of autochrome plates in 1907 introduced another major shift. These early color transparencies were especially popular for landscapes and travel scenes, although they had to be viewed through transmitted light or projected onto a screen. Public and private projection evenings became popular forms of entertainment, allowing audiences to experience vivid color views of Italy, the French Riviera, Norway and other destinations.
Among the press images associated with the exhibition are an autochrome of a flower seller standing before Florence’s Ponte Vecchio, an early color view of Digermulen in Norway, Giorgio Sommer’s photograph of Atrani on the Amalfi Coast, and Stillfried’s image of the imperial palace in Tokyo. Seen together, the works reveal how travel photography gradually moved from heavy expeditionary equipment and official commissions toward the personal, immediate and colorful visual language still familiar today.
The World in Focus is on view at the ALBERTINA in Vienna from July 22 through October 26, 2026. The accompanying bilingual catalogue, edited by Anna Hanreich, is available in German and English.
