Contributions to a History of Photography in Austria, volume 25

Edited by Monika Faber for Photoinstitut Bonartes, Vienna, and Walter Moser for the Photographic Collection of the Albertina, Vienna

For her clients Marianne Strobl descended into the sewers, crawled into the caves of the Ötscher and – with her camera – she accompanied the construction of the gas plant Vienna-Leopoldau for years. She created multi-faceted portraits of the textile company E. Braun and the deluxe hotel Meißl & Schadn. Her proficiency in “flash photography” helped her to document new buildings such as the Semmeringvilla, furnished with historical pomp, a men’s home or a mental hospital in Trieste. Strobl’s specialization in industrial photography was a practical strategy in order to subsist on the highly competitive market in Vienna around 1900. This self-assured photographer, who did not “hide” in the studio, like many of her professional colleagues, is to be rediscovered.

Ulrike Matzer is an art and cultural scientist in Vienna, Austria.

Image 1
Marianne Strobl, Furnace plant and coal storage tower, Gasworks Vienna-Leopoldau, 1911, silver gelatine print, 23 × 28,5 cm
from: Heinr[ich]. Koppers Essen-Ruhr. Wien-Leopoldau, Wien-Simmering, 1910–1912, album containing 35 photographies, Krupp Historical Archive, Essen (Germany)

Image 2
Marianne Strobl, Collection of geodetic data, 1901, silver gelatine print, 24 × 30 cm
from: Die Oetscherhöhlen, 1901, album containing 15 photographies, Photoinstitut Bonartes, Vienna

Image 3
Marianne Strobl, Carriage No. 68, 1894, albumen print, 19,5 × 25,8 cm
from: Typen der Landesfuhrwerke der Österr.-Ungar. Monarchie […], 1894, portfolio containing 95 photographies, Photoinstitut Bonartes, Vienna