Louis Hersent’s clients valued his portraits for their high finish and accuracy even though he notoriously required multiple lengthy sittings. This portrait is traditionally thought to depict the playwright Louis-Emmanuel-Félicité-Charles-Mercier Dupaty, but this identification is not certain. The cross on his chest signifies that he was a member of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis, a prestigious chivalric order. We hope that this detail will, with further research, allow us to confirm his identity.