Here, three artists study a dramatically lit plaster cast of one of the most celebrated and copied ancient sculptures of the 18th century. European artists and scholars particularly admired the life-size Greek sculpture, known as the “Borghese Gladiator,” for its careful and idealized rendering of human anatomy. The artist Joseph Wright of Derby, on the far right, sits with his back turned and holds a drawing of the statue for comparison. The sculpture—located in Rome, Italy—became well-known in England through the production and circulation of numerous casts and copies. Joshua Reynolds’ painting Lady Stanhope as Contemplation, on view nearby, similarly reflects the taste for collecting copies of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture among the British upper classes.