François CORBELLINI (1863-1943) Portrait of Francesco Antonio Versini, known as Abbé Versini (ca 1793-1869). 105 x 74.5 cm. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated 1898 lower right. In a large gilded wood frame decorated with laurels. Size with frame: 127 x 97.5 cm. Slightly missing. Abbé Versini was canon chaplain at the Ajaccio military hospital in 1843. He was honorary canon of the imperial chapter of Saint-Denis, then one of Emperor Napoleon III's Chaplains in 1855, alongside Abbé Mullois. First Chaplain to Emperor Napoleon III in 1858, his duties included celebrating daily masses in the Emperor's chapel. This portrait by François Corbellini was probably commissioned by the Versini family and painted post-mortem from a photograph. To the right of the composition, we can see the village of Marignana in Corsica, where Abbé Versini was born.