Jean Léglise (1813–1876) was the mayor of Saint-Martin-de-Seignanx, a small town near Bayonne in southwestern France. A trader in wood, he made a fortune from the construction of the railroad between Bayonne and Bordeaux. Bonnat painted a companion portrait of Léglise's wife, Maire-Augusta-Julie Léglise (1812–1894). The latter portrait, also signed and dated 1868, was donated to the Musée Carnavalet in Paris in 2001.