Eugène Protot (1839–1921) was a French lawyer and political opponent of the Second Empire who served as minister of justice during the Paris Commune of 1871, and this albumen CDV portrait by E. Appert of Paris presents him at the height of that turbulent period. The Appert studio operated at 24 Rue Taitbout, Paris, and the mount's printed imprint identifies the firm as Photographe du Corps Législatif and Photographe de la Magistrature, both titles consistent with the studio's documented specialty in portraits of legal and political figures. The card dates to circa 1871.

Protot appears in three-quarter view against a plain light ground, wearing the dark robes and broad white rabat (the pleated bib-collar) of a French avocat, his expression serious and his gaze directed slightly off-camera. His dark hair sweeps back from a high forehead, and a neat imperial beard and mustache complete the image of a young professional of his era.

After his role in the Commune, Protot went into exile and did not return to France until 1880. The Appert brothers specialized in portrait photography of political figures across the spectrum, and Protot himself was already connected to the studio's earlier work, having been among the subjects of Appert's photomontage documentation of the Blois trial of 1870.

The reverse bears two pencil inscriptions: a signature reading "Protot" and a hand-keyed identification reading "Eugene Protot / Lawyer Paris Commune." Also present on the reverse are the notations "2/22/07," "COLDAZ," and "Eb." The mount bears the printed legend "E. APPERT, PHOT. / Déposé" on the recto and the full studio imprint with silver medal dates of 1853, 1855, 1859, and 1867 on the verso, along with the copyright notice "Reproduction interdite" (reproduction forbidden).