Done in oil paint on canvas, the work depicts a brigand and his wife in prayer before a cross in the mountains of central Italy.

The people and culture of the Brigante became a common subject of Robert's painting after he witnessed the mass arrest of brigands and their families by the government of the Papal States.

[1] The painting was originally intended to be entered to win the Prix de Rome, a prestigious art scholarship.

The place of worship takes the form of a simple wooden cross located on a remote road, with vast mountains towering in the background.

The sympathy-inspiring depictions of the frugality and piety of the couple reflect Robert's fascination with the culture of the Italian brigands, who the painter found to be a faithful people despite their criminality.