Marble statue of Aurelius Verus Ceasar

The subject is a Roman imperial portrait of Aurelius Verus Caesar, a co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius. The statue, originally sculpted in marble, was documented here not for its aesthetic value alone but as a historical artifact. The photograph served as a precise visual record, enabling scholars and students to study classical forms, drapery, and facial features without direct access to the original in Paris.

Laffon employed a direct photographic process, likely a salted paper print or albumen print, to render the statue’s surface with clarity and tonal nuance. The lighting is even and controlled, emphasizing form over atmosphere. While the image reflects a documentary impulse, its composition and attention to texture align with emerging photographic standards of precision in the mid-nineteenth century.

The photograph was produced by Louise Laffon during her documentation of the Campana Collection at the Musée Napoléon III in Paris. In 1864, the V&A purchased 500 such images through Parisian agent E. Cappe. These works entered the museum’s National Art Library collection, where they were used for educational reference. Laffon was among the first women professionally engaged in museum-related photography.

At the time, the V&A was pioneering the use of photography as an educational tool, supplementing casts and drawings. Photographs like this one allowed for wider dissemination of classical sculpture among art students and curators. Laffon’s work was part of an international network of image exchange, linking British institutions with French collections during a period of growing interest in antiquities.

Laffon’s photographs remain significant as early examples of institutional photographic documentation by a female practitioner. Her contribution helped establish photography’s role in museum archives. The V&A’s retention of these images underscores their value as historical records, preserving not only the appearance of antiquities but also the methods by which they were studied in the 19th century.