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Bas-relief portion of a frieze of two satyrs in terra cotta

Louise Laffon

1864

photographic

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century

Dominant colour

Bas-relief portion of a frieze of two satyrs 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 carved clay satyrs from 1863–64. Louise Laffon made it during the early days of Impressionism and Realism. The work sits in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s early photo collection. The V&A was the first museum to collect and show photographs back in 1852. Henry Cole pushed to use photos to help artists and students learn. Check out Louise Laffon next.

The story of this work

Overview

A terra cotta bas-relief fragment from a frieze depicts two satyrs and is attributed to Louise Laffon, who produced it in 1864. The work was part of a series of one hundred albumen photographs documenting sculptures and antiquities from the Campana Collection at the Musée Napoléon III in Paris. The Victoria and Albert Museum acquired five hundred prints from Laffon’s series through an agent that year. Surviving examples of her original mounts bear the gender-neutral mark “L. Laffon” alongside the studio name “Photographie Lord Byron.”

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