Venus leaning on a bearded Herma statuette in terra cotta

The photograph is a gelatin silver print, likely produced using the wet plate process common in the 1860s. Its composition is formal and neutral, emphasizing clarity over aesthetic flourish. Lighting is even, minimizing shadows to reveal surface texture and contour. The image prioritizes accuracy, aligning with the museum’s goal of creating reliable visual records for educational use rather than artistic expression.

In 1864, the V&A acquired 500 photographs from Louise Laffon’s series documenting the Campana Collection in Paris. Laffon, one of the earliest female members of Le Société Française de la Photographie, was commissioned through the agent E. Cappe. These images entered the museum’s collection as part of its expanding visual archive, bridging European institutions and supporting scholarly access to antiquities held abroad.

During the mid-19th century, museums increasingly turned to photography to democratize access to collections. The V&A’s initiative aligned with broader educational reforms in design and the arts. Female photographers like Laffon and Isabel Agnes Cowper were integral to this effort, though their roles were often unacknowledged. Their work helped establish photography as a practical tool in institutional scholarship.

Laffon’s photographs remain part of the V&A’s historical archive, illustrating early institutional uses of photography in art education. Their preservation underscores the museum’s pioneering role in documenting cultural heritage through the lens. These images continue to inform conservation and curatorial research, offering a visual record of 19th-century collecting practices and the quiet contributions of women in photographic history.