This photograph displays a slight sheen often associated with an albumen print. Whilst salted paper prints carry the image within the fibres of the paper and often look matt, an albumen print carries the image as a layer that sits above the paper fibres. This can look like a varnish on top of the photograph. Sometimes, however, the sheen is very slight.General Pierre Bosquet was a highly successful divisional commander in the French army throughout the Crimean campaign. His strong, confident pose for Fenton suggests he was aware of the potential impact that a formal photographic portrait could have.

From the collection of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII