Marble statue of Theseus or Hercules

Taken in the mid‑nineteenth century, the photograph reflects the technical standards of early studio work: a clear, evenly lit composition that emphasizes the stone’s texture and the sculptural volume. The image was produced on paper using the wet‑collodion process, which was then the dominant method for achieving fine detail in documentary photography.

The photograph entered the V&A’s holdings as part of a larger purchase of 500 images by French photographer Louise Laffon, acquired through the dealer Monsieur E. Cappe in 1864. Laffon, a member of the Société Française de la Photographie, had been commissioned to record objects from the Campana Collection at the Musée Napoléon III, now the Louvre, and her work was integrated into the museum’s National Art Library collection for educational use.

At the time of its acquisition, photography was being promoted by the museum’s founding director, Henry Cole, as a tool to broaden visual resources for artists, scholars, and museum staff. The inclusion of Laffon’s images, alongside those taken by the museum’s own photographers such as Isabel Agnes Cowper, demonstrates the collaborative network of professional and institutional photographers supporting the V&A’s educational mission.