A scene depicting the killing of Virginia by her father the centurion Virginius. There is a crowded scene against the background of a stone-coloured architecture receding to the left. To the right of the centre a man in a red cloak is seated on a throne atop some circular steps. He points to the left, directing three soldiers who approach from the far right, drawing their weapons; a dwarf in a turban, seated on the steps at his feet, throws up his arm in alarm. An elderly man in a turban to the left, looks in horror towards the figure of Virginius to the left, wearing a centurion's helmet and pointing to the right. At the foot of the steps to the left, the dead figure of Virginia with her skin the colour of the stone pillars, lies slumped in the arms of another woman dressed in orange.