A Communard identified on the reverse as Fontaine, this carte-de-visite was made by E. Appert at his studio at 24, rue Taitbout, Paris, almost certainly in the aftermath of the 1871 uprising, when Appert gained exclusive access to a makeshift prison at Versailles and made portraits of individual prisoners. Appert specialized as a portraitist of political figures of all stripes and served as official photographer to both the Legislative Body and the magistracy, making his lens uniquely positioned to document those swept up in the Commune's brutal suppression. The photograph dates to the studio's Taitbout address period, active at 24, rue Taitbout through 1877.

The subject is shown in three-quarter view against a plain ground, wearing a dark sack coat over a buttoned waistcoat, a white cravat loosely knotted at the collar, and a pocket watch chain looping across the chest. His full beard is streaked with gray, his dark wavy hair worn long at the sides, and his gaze is directed upward and away from the camera with a composed, unguarded expression.

A functionary charged by the Commune with the demolition of Thiers's house was brought before a council of war that accused him of theft; the evidence against him amounted to two valueless medals found in his home, while furniture and valuables had been documented as sent to the Garde-Meuble and public institutions. He was condemned to twenty years of hard labor. The reverse inscription linking this portrait to that sentence places it squarely within Appert's documented series of Communard prisoner portraits issued as cartes-de-visite.

The reverse bears the printed studio imprint of E. Appert, Peintre Photographe, 24, rue Taitbout, Paris, with the designations "Photographe du Corps Législatif" and "Photographe de la Magistrature," along with four silver medal medallions dated 1853, 1855, 1859, and 1867. Handwritten inscriptions read: "Fontaine / f9 d'engin, poudre" (Fontaine / No. 9, explosives, powder) at the top; "Member Paris Commune / Condemned to 20 years of / hard labor!" in the center; and "Photog. E. Appert / 4/26/07 / LOFGCZ / Eb" at the bottom. The front mount bears the printed legend "E. APPERT, PHOT. / Déposé." and "Reproduction / interdite."