A Viennese Chronicler of Distant Lands and Familiar Life Alois Schönn (1826-1897) occupies a fascinating, yet often overlooked, position within the landscape of 19th-century Austrian art. He wasn’t a revolutionary innovator like Klimt, nor did he strive for the dramatic grandeur of Ingres. Instead, Schönn carved out a niche as a meticulous observer and skilled chronicler of his time—a painter who captured both the exotic allure of dis…