Joseph Silvestre Brun was the son of a marble sculptor, and trained in sculpture and gem engraving under François Lemot, François Jouffroy, and Nicolas Augustin Matte as well as attending the National School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Paris. Brun was awarded the First Prize of Rome for medal engraving in 1817 based upon his depiction of Androcles and the lion and Second Prize of Rome in 1813, from his depiction of Theseus discovering the arms of his father. He also executed a silvered bronze medal in 1825 to celebrate the coronation of Charles X of France in Reims.
A very similar intaglio with some variations representing Orestes in Fury is recorded in the Paoletti collection (inv. no. MR27830), see L. Pirzio Biroli Stefanelli, La collezione Paoletti, Rome, 2012, vol. VIII. I, no. 2.