Rejsedagbog. Voghera 1846

Johan Thomas Lundbye created this travel journal entry, “Voghera,” with pen and ink, sometime in the 1840s, while he was in Italy. Travel journals in this period were often used for artistic and scientific purposes. Wealthy tourists were often expected to keep records of their travels and the sights they had seen. They would then take them back home, and use them to educate people about the places that they had been. This practice was deeply rooted in systems of class and education. It was a status symbol for the upper classes who had the time and money to travel. It also gave them the power to shape how others perceived foreign lands. How might Lundbye's own social status as an artist, and his relationship with wealthy patrons have shaped this journal entry? Was he using it as a way to elevate his own status? To get new commissions? By studying this artwork within the context of travel and tourism in the 19th century, we can get a better understanding of how art was used to create and reinforce social hierarchies.