Bas-relief depicting the Virgin and Child attributed to Rosellino

The photograph is a gelatin silver print, likely produced using the albumen process, common in mid-19th-century archival documentation. Laffon’s approach emphasized clarity and tonal accuracy, minimizing artistic embellishment to ensure faithful reproduction of the relief’s surface details. The composition is centered and evenly lit, prioritizing record-keeping over aesthetic expression.

The image originated in a series commissioned by the Musée Napoléon III in Paris, documenting sculptures from the Campana Collection. In 1864, the South Kensington Museum purchased 500 photographs from this series through the Parisian agent E. Cappe. Louise Laffon, one of the earliest professional female photographers in France, was credited as the photographer, though her role was often obscured in institutional records.

The V&A’s early adoption of photography aligned with its mission to elevate design education. By collecting reproductions of sculptures, paintings, and decorative arts from across Europe, the museum enabled access to works otherwise inaccessible to students. Laffon’s photographs, alongside those by Isabel Agnes Cowper and others, formed a vital visual archive that supported comparative study and technical training.

This photograph exemplifies how institutional photography in the 19th century reshaped art education. Though originally functional, such images now serve as historical records of artworks’ condition and display at the time. Laffon’s contribution, once overlooked, is increasingly recognized as part of a broader, under-documented network of women who shaped museum practices through technical expertise.