The Napoleon Baron Fain knew:

'...his height was five feet two inches [French feet]. He was small, but well made; however his neck was a little short and he had perhaps already too much belly.'

'His tissue was soft and the lymph thick. His skin color was never florid; his cheeks were of a dull white, giving him a face round and pale, but not the pallor that denotes a sick person...'

His chestnut-colored hair was cut short around his head and combed flat. He had a round head, the forehead wide and high; blue-gray eyes, a pleasing expression, a well-made nose, a gracefully formed mouth, and good teeth. His vision was not excellent; he supplemented it with the help of eyeglasses that he always carried...'

'During work and at times of preoccupation, the regularity of his features easily took on a hue of imposing serenity; but in the informality of private life, his smile took on great kindness. He rarely laughed. When he did, it was with a roar, but it was more by way of irony than from great joy. Moreover, no man's face changed more vividly according to the feelings of his soul: this same look which had just been tender would suddenly shoot out lightning bolts.'