Jacques Laurent Agasse

Jacques-Laurent Agasse was a Swiss animal painter who made his career in England, painting horses, dogs and exotic animals with an anatomist’s precision. He studied at veterinary school in Paris to understand how animals were built, and it shows: his horses stand and move convincingly.

Born in Geneva, he trained at the city’s art school and in Paris before the English patron George Pitt, Lord Rivers, brought him to London around 1800. He exhibited at the Royal Academy for over forty years, painting racehorses, pets and animals from the royal menagerie, as well as London street scenes. Landing at Westminster Bridge of 1818 shows his gift for everyday city life.

The Oskar Reinhart Foundation in Winterthur has a fine group of his work. In his portraits of horses, look at the sheen of the coat and the careful placing of the legs.