Eugène Pertuiset was a celebrated lion hunter who enjoyed considerable media attention and fame during the Second French Empire.

In addition to being a big-game hunter, he was an engineer, collector of weapons and paintings, and was commissioned in 1873 by the Republic of Chile to lead an exploration of Tierra del Fuego.

After crossing the Strait of Magellan, he made several expeditions into the interior, discovered coal deposits on Dawson Island and obtained a concession to establish a colony, which he intended to populate with settlers from France; however, the Chilean government withdrew from the project.

Pertuiset, rather than striking a heroic pose as expected by his fans, is depicted on one knee, with a somewhat pensive expression.

Manet exhibited Portrait of Monsieur Pertuiset the Lion-Hunter at the Paris Salon in 1881 where it received much condemnation from various critics who disliked its flat style, overuse of violet, and the originality of the pose.