Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was born in Ajaccio in Corsica and of Italian origin. By the age of 26, he was a general and was placed in command of the campaign against Sardinia and Austria in Italy. In 1798, he led his forces to Egypt, threatening the British overland route to India, but was defeated by Horatio Nelson at the battle of the Nile. Bonaparte returned to France in 1799 and, joining a conspiracy with Emmanuel Sièyes (1748–1836), overthrew the Directoire (the French revolutionary government) and dissolved the First Republic. He became First Consul in 1799 and Emperor of France in 1804. After his defeat in 1814, he abdicated but, after a brief exile on the island of Elba, he escaped and marched on Paris but was defeated again at the Battle of Waterloo. He spent the rest of his life in exile on St Helena. His first marriage in 1796 was to Joséphine Beauharnais, and was dissolved in 1809. In 1810, he married Princess Marie-Louise, daughter of Francis I of Austria.

Napoleon is wearing the uniform of the National Guard and the insignia of the Legion of Honour. The miniature is based on a well-known style of portrait by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, of which there is a version in the Wallace Collection in London.

The artist, J. Parent (active 1815-33), exhibited work at the Paris Salon between 1822 and 1833, including numerous miniatures of Napoleon and his generals.

The miniature is signed and dated on the left: JP. 1815 and inscribed on the back in ink: Napoleon I. J. Isabey.