This portrait of the Empress was painted as a companion portrait to that of her husband, Napoleon III (RCIN 406011). The artist probably collaborated with John Frederick Herring, as in the similar portraits of Queen Victoria (RCIN 405278) and Prince Albert (RCIN 405279), with Boutibonne painting the figures and Herring the horses. In the background is a view of the château of St Cloud, where Napoleon III was crowned and where the Emperor and Empress held court.

The Empress Eugénie was the younger daughter of the Count of Montijo. She married Napoleon III in January 1853 and was Regent in the summer of 1870 when the Emperor was engaged in the Franco-Prussian war. After the battle of Sedan, when Napoleon III was captured along with his whole army, she fled to England with her son. Queen Victoria wrote of her in 1855: 'It is not such gt beauty – but such grace, elegance, sweetness & nature. Her manners are charming. The profile & figure – beautiful & particularly distingué'.

Signed and dated: E. Boutibonne 1856. Inscribed on the back with the names of artists and sitter and the date, 1856.