Ever since the Renaissance western culture has been engaged in the depiction of reality. Until the invention of photography in 1839 artists had to trust their own visual recollection in order to put what was seen to paper. The artist having seen the place or event depicted was on the other hand considered as proof of the reliability of the depiction. Something resembling the snapshot could therefore only be constructed from memory. Visual communication was revolutionized by the rise of photography, which in its turn has now been exceeded by digital photography by which an event can be communicated worldwide the moment it takes place.

The many expeditions of the 17th century led to an explosive development in the mapping of the world. The Royal Library holds extensive collections of atlases, maps, and globes dating from the Age of Enlightenment to today as well as large collections of drawings, prints, and photographs (prints, negatives, and digital), totalling about 11 million units.