The miniature depicts Francis in armour with a military encampment on fire to the left and trees with a blue sky to the right, seeming to contrast war and peace. The image may suggest his move from the military to the clerical life when he was ordained at the age of 18. He was the son of the Duke of Berwick, an illegitimate son of James II and Arabella Churchill. He succeeded his brother as Duc de Fitz James in 1721, took Holy Orders in 1727, and became Bishop of Soissons in 1739.

The identity of the artist is unknown.

Enclosed in a leather box, on the inside lid of which is pasted a label inscribed in an eighteenth-century hand: Comte Fitz James, son of the Duke, afterwards Bishop of Soissons. He was a great friend of my eldest brother to whom he gave this Picture & my brother gave it to me.