Unlike the nearby two theatrical portraits, which show the actors in character, Bocage is shown as himself. Known by the stage name Bocage, Pierre-Martinien Tousez was a star of the Comédie-Française. Here he poses with a younger friend whose identity is unknown. Physical contact and gestures of affection between men are common in 19th- and early 20th-century photographs. They are most widely read as expressions of friendship, although some contemporary scholars suggest that a portion of these portraits could be coded expressions of romantic relationships.