The writer, politician and future Baron of Dunstanville, Francis Basset (1757-1835), appears full-length, leaning on a pedestal alongside the remains of classical ruins, with plans in his right hand. Visible in the background to the right is the Roman architecture of Saint Peter's at the Vatican, and to the left, the Castel Sant'Angelo. This portrait was painted in 1778 during Basset's trip to Italy as a young man —between 1777 and 1770. Such trips were common among English intellectuals and artists in the eighteenth century and were known as the Grand Tour.