The painting measures 25.2 x 20.9 inches (64 x 53 cm) and is part of the permanent collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp.

There is a similar portrait housed at the Uffizi in Florence, realized some six years earlier than the Antwerp painting.

[1][2] The paintings are different in many respects, such as the objects depicted therein (hat, state decorations), the sitter's posture, and the lighting.

The Antwerp version also differs from the apparently near-identical Fogg Painting (a self-portrait by Ingres realized in 1859, currently housed at the Fogg Art Museum) both in execution and structure; in the Antwerp version the lighting differs, and Ingres' hat produces no shadow.

Ingres was a painter, draftsman, and violinist whose work art scholars have described as having a musical character because of its melodic flowing lines and soft, harmonic coloration.

J'espère que l ' Académie et vous, Monsieur le Président, voudrez bien m'excuser en égard à mon âge et à l'irrégularité de ma santé, qui ne m'ont pas permis de remplir plus tôt cet engagement.

[10] Complete with smart suit, top hat and gloves, he’s ready to go out, but not without the medals and honours that he displays so proudly: the star of a Grand Officer in the French Legion of Honour, the cross of the Prussian Order of Merit, and a decoration awarded to him by the Grand Duke of Tuscany.

The black cloth of the jacket contrasts with the silk collar, just as the hard nose of his fleshy face stands out against his fine, sleek hair.