Raoul Rigault, journalist and prosecutor of the Paris Commune, is portrayed in this albumen silver carte-de-visite by Étienne Carjat & Cie, produced at the studio's 10, Rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette address in Paris. The Notre-Dame-de-Lorette address places this portrait within the studio's active years there from 1869 through 1884. The oval vignette format and restrained studio backdrop are characteristic of Carjat's approach, distinguished by the absence of elaborate ornamentation that marked so many of his contemporaries.

Rigault faces the camera in three-quarter view, wearing a dark double-breasted frock coat over a white shirt with a loosely knotted cravat. His thick, full beard and dark, wavy hair are strongly rendered in the albumen print. A delicate pince-nez rests on his nose, its cord falling against the lapel, and his expression is composed and direct.

Raoul Adolphe Georges Rigault (16 January 1846 – 24 May 1871) was a journalist and French socialist revolutionary best known for his role during the Paris Commune of 1871. He served as delegate to the Sûreté générale and as prosecutor of the Commune of Paris. During the Bloody Week, on 24 May, he fought in the Latin Quarter in full uniform and was shot at close range by a Versaillais officer.

Signed in ink on the reverse "Raoul Rigault." The reverse also bears the full printed imprint: "AU REZ-DE-CHAUSSÉE / Nouvelle / PHOTOGRAPHIE / ETIENNE CARJAT & Cie / RUE NOTRE DAME DE LORETTE / 10 / MAISON FONDÉE EN 1867," with medal credits for London 1861, Paris 1863–1864, Berlin 1865, and the Exposition Universelle 1867.