Albert Kahn’s Visionary Journey: Capturing the World in Color (1909-1931)

In 1909, French philanthropist Albert Kahn embarked on an extraordinary mission to document cultures around the world through one of the earliest color photography techniques—Autochrome. His vision was simple but powerful: to promote peace and understanding through visual storytelling.

This video explores Kahn’s groundbreaking project, which sent photographers like Stéphane Passet, Auguste Léon, and Lucien Le Saint to over 50 countries, capturing 72,000 color plates and over 180,000 meters of film. Spanning from Europe to Africa, Asia, and beyond, these images provide a rare glimpse into a world in transition, preserving traditions and ways of life that were on the brink of disappearing.

Although the project ended after Kahn's financial collapse in the aftermath of the 1929 Wall Street crash, his work lives on in the Musée Albert Kahn and an extensive digital archive that continues to inspire and educate. Discover how one man’s dream to capture the beauty and diversity of humanity shaped a lasting legacy of cultural understanding.

All images used are in the public domain and intended for educational, research, and non-commercial purposes.

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#AlbertKahn #AutochromePhotography #PhotographyHistory #MuséeAlbertKahn #GlobalCulture #HistoricalPhotography #VisualStorytelling #CulturalPreservation

[edinfific]

When people use their money for a good purpose.

[Simkets]

Is it just me who always gets surprised, for some reason, that the world looked "normal" back in the day?

For some reason I always expect it to look different. But it, of course, just looks like a normal world with people.

[sachin]

He photographed poor areas that were colonized and destroyed by imperialist empires who sent "photographers" and "travellers" to their colonies.

[Calidore]

Cliché alert, "still resonates"??