Louise Michel (1830–1905), teacher, writer, poet, and anarchist, was a major figure in the Paris Commune and one of its most famous female representatives. This albumen carte de visite, attributed to the Lopez studio as imprinted on the mount face, presents her in a three-quarter standing pose against a painted studio backdrop, and dates from the Commune era or its immediate aftermath. The format and mount style are consistent with the peak CDV portrait trade of the 1870s.

Michel stands erect with her hands clasped at the waist, wearing a dark fitted dress with a heavily ornamented lace and beaded plastron, small bow tie at the collar, and ruffled cuffs at each wrist. Her dark curly hair falls loosely to the jaw. Her expression is direct and composed, and a cluster of foliage props appears at lower right in the painted background.

During the siege of Paris in 1870–71, Michel fought zealously with the National Guard defending the Commune against Versailles troops, and after the Commune's defeat she was court-martialed and sentenced to prison. When the Versailles government crushed the Commune in May 1871, she was sentenced to exile in New Caledonia, until the general amnesty of 1880, when she returned to France. Known as "La Vierge Rouge" (the Red Virgin), she became one of the defining figures of the French anarchist movement.

The name "Louise Michel" is inscribed in script in dark ink on the lower mount face, with "Lopez" written below in red script. The reverse bears a pencil inscription reading: "Jesuit Martyrs / Paris Commune / 1871 / Shot May 24 & 26 1871," along with the notation "20DCXZ 11/27/05 Eb."