Louis-Nathaniel Rossel, the only senior French army officer to side with the Paris Commune of 1871, is depicted here in a full-length standing portrait on an albumen carte-de-visite produced by E. Appert at 24 Rue Taitbout, Paris. The studio's back-mark medals dated 1853 through 1867 place the mount within that bracket, while Rossel's known involvement with the Commune in 1871 grounds the sitting firmly in that year, making this a document of exceptional historical weight. Appert worked for the Ministry of Justice as an expert accredited to the Tribunal de la Seine, and in 1871 he photographed Communards tried at Versailles, producing portraits of the insurrection's key figures, among them Louis Rossel.

Rossel stands in full military dress, a dark tunic with double rows of brass buttons and fringed epaulettes at both shoulders, light-colored trousers with a lateral stripe, and polished black shoes. He holds a white glove in his lowered right hand while resting his left arm over a sword at his hip. His expression is composed and direct beneath a dark mustache and short cropped hair. A draped curtain with tasseled cord fills the left background, and an ornate side table occupies the right.

Louis-Nathaniel Rossel (9 September 1844 – 28 November 1871) was a French army officer and politician who became the only senior French officer to join the Paris Commune, playing an important role as Minister of War. He served in turn as chief of the 17th legion, chief of general staff, and president of the court martial, before being invested with supreme command on May 1. He was executed by firing squad on 28 November 1871 at the Satory camp, alongside Théophile Ferré and Sergeant Pierre Bourgeois.

The reverse is inscribed in pencil: "Gen. Rossel / of the Commune / Shot after trial by / Court Martial." The back-mark reads "E. Appert, Peintre Photographe, de S.M. la Reine d'Espagne, de S.A.I. le Grand-Duc Constantin, Expert près le Tribunal de la Seine, 24 Rue Taitbout, Paris" (Painter-Photographer to Her Majesty the Queen of Spain, to His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Constantin, Expert to the Tribunal of the Seine, 24 Rue Taitbout, Paris), with the notation "Reproduction interdite" (reproduction prohibited) printed on the front. Pencil notations at the bottom of the reverse read "2 of 2," "LOBCG2," and "Eb."