Felice Beato (1832-1909) was an Italian photographer. He was the first photographer to devote himself entirely to photographing in Asia and the Near East.

From his pioneering work in Japan to his coverage of the Crimean War and his fascinating photographs from Burma, Felice Beato produced a wealth of images that offer a glimpse into the early days of photography and its expansion along the colonial route into the East. Beato, whose work represents the first substantial body of photojournalism, was among the first to take photographs in East Asia and also an early war photographer. A British subject, Beato understood the growing role of public information, newspapers, and magazines, and saw it as an essential component of the functioning of liberal democracies as well as a means for building political consensus.
Beato settled in Mandalay at the height of an extraordinary career and a wandering existence, immediately leaving a profound mark thanks to his cutting-edge photographic techniques, refined artistic sense, and commercial insights, expanding the horizon of knowledge of Myanmar in Europe and beyond. His iconic photographs shaped an "idea of Burma" that—though it may be considered stereotypical today—remains a part of the collective imagination and memory of Myanmar.