This painting is a study of the chapel in the Church of the Invalides in Paris where the coffin of Napoleon I was resting when Queen Victoria visited it on 24 August 1855. The coffin and the items on the small altar-like structure in front of it are very close to those in the larger, finished picture (RCIN 402019) by the same artist.

Signed and dated: 'E M Ward RA / Octr. 1856.' On the back is a copy of the artist's original inscription, in which he states that the study was painted on the spot, in October 1856, for the background to the painting of Queen Victoria's visit to the tomb.