Berezowski's attack against Czar Alexander II

On June 6, 1867, during the Universal Exhibition in Paris, the Polish nationalist Antoni Berezowski attempted to assassinate Tsar Alexander II as his carriage passed through the Bois de Boulogne. The shot missed the Tsar but wounded a horse. Berezowski was convicted and imprisoned in French Guiana for life. Carpeaux painted this canvas in the same year, making it one of the rare contemporary event paintings in his output. The assassination attempt had significant political implications — Poland had been partitioned by Russia, and Polish nationalists harbored deep resentments. Paris had a substantial Polish émigré community. The Musée d'Orsay holds this work as a document of a specific political moment in Second Empire Paris, painted by an artist better known for imperial portraits and dancing figures.

Oil on canvas with rapid, observation-based handling appropriate to a painter reconstructing a contemporary event. The composition was likely based on eyewitness accounts or Carpeaux's own presence, and the handling reflects the urgency of recent events.