This exceptional portrait of the Empress Eugenie was commissioned by the Pasha of Egypt from the painter and photographer Gustave Le Gray in 1869 on the occasion of the inauguration of the Suez Canal. He offered it as a gift to Eugenie.
The Empress subsequently gave the work to her god-daughter, Madame Pietri, who had accompanied Eugenie on the journey to Egypt.
For further details on this work (in French) click here.
This painting was auctioned at Fontainebleau on 24-25 June 2006 by the auctioneers Osenat.