Gustave Courbet's name is synonymous with a defining moment of the Paris Commune: the destruction of the Vendôme Column. This albumen silver carte de visite portrait was made by Pierre Petit at his celebrated studio at 31 Place Cadet, Paris, almost certainly dating to the late 1860s in connection with Petit's ambitious portrait series of prominent public figures. The reverse carries the studio's characteristic violet-ink imprint, including the "Exposition Universelle 1867" banner above the arms of Paris, identifying the mount as issued in the period surrounding that exhibition.

The subject is shown in three-quarter view against a plain warm-toned ground, wearing a dark frock coat, matching waistcoat with visible buttons, a white shirt with a broad collar, and a black bow tie. His silver hair, worn long and swept back at the sides, and his direct, heavy-lidded gaze give the portrait a commanding presence. One hand is tucked into his coat front.

During the Paris Commune of 1871, Courbet was elected municipal councillor and president of the federation of artists, an office comparable to a minister of culture. His involvement in the Commune and the accusation that he participated in the destruction of the Vendôme Column saw him jailed in 1871. He was subsequently sentenced to pay reconstruction costs of 323,000 francs and fled to Switzerland, where he spent the last four years of his life.

Reverse inscribed in pencil: "Courbet / who destroyed the / Column of Vendome" (the subject identified and annotated by a later hand). Violet studio imprint reads: "Pierre Petit / Opère Lui Même / 31, Place Cadet / Paris" surmounted by the "Exposition Universelle 1867" device with the arms of Paris. Lower left corner bears a penciled notation "3/18/07" and the catalog references "COBAEDX" and "Eb."