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In the second half of the 18th century Cignaroli, a native of Verona, was one of the most important representatives of the academic trend. He was fond of large historical compositions and heroic themes, his chief concern being accurate design and historical authenticity, while, in compliance with the changing taste of art and with the new ideas of classicism, he rejected playfulness, facile lightness and pictorial arbitrariness. His dramatic paintings of sombre tone, to be seen in the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, are didactic in spirit and meant to illustrate exemplary conduct.
The painting is signed with the master's name in Greek characters. Its companion-piece, The Death of Cato, is also in Budapest.
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