Based on the apparent age of the sitter and date of execution of the work, the traditional identification of the sitter as François Christophe de Kellermann, who would have been in his 60s at the time of the sitting, is questionable. The sitter bears more of a physical resemblance to General Jean-Baptiste Kléber (1753-1800), who would have been in his 40s (see P. Jean-Richard, Miniatures sur ivoire. Musée du Louvre. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, 1994, no. 261, illustrated p. 159 for the famous portrait by Guérin).