Towards the end of the 18th century many intellectuals, artists and architects began to look to the classical world for inspiration. This would manifest itself in the style of art, fashion and architecture subsequently known as neo-classicism – a revival of austere, moralistic, simple classical forms after the decadence of the Baroque. This print not only shows how the neo-classical style drew on art from the classical world but also how the people of the time were concerned with the depiction of the human figure as a moral and heroic subject. The print was made by the relatively unknown Venetian artist Andrea Rossi. He worked in the manner of the more famous engraver Marco Pitteri, using repeated parallel lines that are emphasised according to whether they represent darker or lighter areas, replacing the more traditional method of cross hatching. This technique heightens the linearity of the print, a feature of neo-classical design. The austerity of the monochrome, with no features distracting from the nobility of the idealised, heroic, male nude, is also a typical neo-classical characteristic. The writings of the theorist Johann Joachim Wincklemann informed how many viewed classical Greek and Roman statues. He urged his reader to admire the ‘Noble Simplicity and Quiet Grandeur’ of sculpture such as this. This print formed part of an album made in France of prints after famous and admired antique sculptures. The inscription beneath the image describes the location of the sculpture in the Capitoline museum in Rome and hints at the debate of the time concerning the subject of the statue. The statue was originally known as the Dying Gladiator but is now called the Dying Gaul because of the distinctive moustache and haircut of the figure, features that are associated with Gallic tribes. The print is dedicated to a Mr. Patrick Lawless, a diplomat living in Paris. He is referred to as a ‘grand lover of the fine arts’ indicating that a print like this boosted the status and standing of those connected to it with its neo-classical ideals of beauty, morality and heroism.