Marble bust of Agrippina, wife of Germanicus

The marble bust depicts Agrippina, a prominent figure of the early Imperial period, known for her political influence and familial connections to the Julio‑Claudian dynasty. By presenting her in sculptural form, the photograph conveys both the classical ideal of Roman portraiture and the 19th‑century fascination with antiquity.

Laffon employed the wet‑collodion process, typical of the era, to render fine tonal contrasts that emphasize the marble’s texture and the subtle modeling of the face. The image balances a realistic rendering of surface detail with an impressionistic softness in the background, reflecting contemporary photographic aesthetics.

The print was part of a series Laffon produced of objects from the Campana Collection displayed at the Musée Napoléon III. In 1864 the Victoria and Albert Museum purchased 500 of these works through the agent Monsieur E. Cappe, making the bust photograph one of the earliest examples of the museum’s photographic holdings.

At the time, the V&A (then the South Kensington Museum) was among the first institutions to collect and exhibit photographs, a policy driven by founding director Henry Cole. Female photographers like Laffon contributed significantly to this mission, supplying images that supported the museum’s educational and administrative functions.