Roundel, St. Matthew, by della Robbia, Palace of Necessidades

The subject of the photograph is a roundel (circular panel) featuring St. Matthew, created by the della Robbia workshop. The photograph's primary purpose was documentation, rather than artistic interpretation, reflecting Thompson's documentary approach.

The photograph is a straightforward, contextual documentary image, characteristic of mid-19th-century photographic techniques. The lack of elaborate staging emphasizes the object's documentation over aesthetic enhancement.

Commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, the photograph was taken by Thompson in 1866 at the Royal Palaces in Lisbon, as part of the V&A's early photographic initiatives to document and promote art collections.

Part of a broader effort to leverage photography for art education and collection promotion, this image represents an early instance of a museum systematically using photography for archival and educational purposes.