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Bas-relief of a portion of a frieze of 'The Victors' in terra cotta

Louise Laffon

1864

photographic

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century

Dominant colour

Bas-relief of a portion of a frieze of 'The Victors' in terra cotta is a 1864 photographic by Louise Laffon, a Impressionism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Louise Laffon
When & what style?: 1864 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This is a photo of a terra cotta relief called *The Victors*, made in 1863-64. It shows a slice of a larger frieze. The piece fits in two movements—Impressionism and Realism. Louise Laffon, a French photographer and sculptor, made it. Back then, the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert) was the first to collect and show photos. They used them to teach artists and students. Want to see more early photography? Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The story of this work

Overview

The Victoria and Albert Museum holds a terra cotta bas-relief fragment from Louise Laffon’s 1864 series, part of a frieze titled *The Victors*. The work was produced as one of 100 albumen photographs documenting sculptures and antiquities in the Campana Collection at the Musée Napoléon III (now the Louvre), with the museum acquiring 500 prints in total. Laffon’s photographs were mounted on gilded boards bearing the neutral signature “L. Laffon” and the studio name “Photographie Lord Byron,” reflecting her practice of concealing her gender. Surviving mounts from the series underscore the…

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Louise Laffon

Louise Laffon (1828–1885), was a French photographer and painter. She was one of the first female professional photographers in France. She had a studio in Paris between 1859 and 1876.

See the richer artist page