Jacques-Laurent Agasse (April 24, 1767 – December 27, 1849) was an

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

and

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painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

from Switzerland. Born at

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Agasse studied in the public art school of that city. Before he turned twenty he went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to study in veterinary school to make himself fully acquainted with the anatomy of horses and other animals. He seems to have subsequently returned to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The '' Tübinger Morgenblatt'' (1808, p. 876) says that "Agasse, the celebrated animal

, now in

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, owed his fortune to an accident. About eight years ago, he being then in

, a rich Englishman ( George Pitt, later Lord Rivers) asked him to paint his favourite dog (

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

) which had died. The Englishman was so pleased with his work that he took the painter to

with him." Nagler says that he was one of the most celebrated animal painters at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century. In Johann Georg Meusel's ''Neue Miscellaneen'' (viii. 1052 et seq.), he compares Agasse and Wouwermans, wholly in favour of the former. In that partial article much is said of his extreme devotion to art, of his marvelous knowledge of anatomy, of his special fondness for the English racehorses, and his excellence in depicting them. He appears first in the Academy catalogues in 1801 as the exhibitor of the 'Portrait of a Horse', and continued to exhibit more or less until 1845 (contradicting Nagler's statement that he died "about" 1806). In the catalogues his name is given as J.L. Agasse or Agassé. The number of times Agassé changed his address confirms Redgrave's assertion that "he lived poor and died poor". The writer of the panegyric already quoted says, however, that he did not work for money, but that he was urged forward by the resistless force of natural genius.

Gallery

File:Landing at Westminster Bridge.jpg, ''Landing at Westminster Bridge'', 1818, oil on canvas, Oskar Reinhart Foundation, Winterthur File:Agasse Quagga.jpg, ''Male Quagga'', early 1800s,

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

File:Jacques-Laurent Agasse - The Flower Seller.jpg, ''Flower Seller'', 1822, oil on canvas, Oskar Reinhart Collection, Winterthur File:Jacques-Laurent Agasse - The Last Stage on the Portsmouth Road.jpg, ''The Last Stage on the Portsmouth Road'', 1815, oil on canvas, Oskar Reinhart Foundation, Winterthur File:White Horse in Pasture.jpg, ''White Horse in Pasture'', 1806–1807, oil on canvas, Oskar Reinhart Foundation, Winterthur File:Jaques-Laurent Agasse Emma Powles.jpg, Emma Powles File:Jacques-Laurent Agasse - The Wellesley Grey Arabian Led through the Desert - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Wellesley Grey Arabian Led through the Desert'' File:James Jacques Laurent Agasse (attr) Edinburgh and London Royal Mail.jpg, ''Edinburgh and London

Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...

'' File:Edward Cross by Agasse.jpg, Edward Cross (1774–1854), zoo proprietor. File:The Playground (1830) - Jacques Laurent Agasse (Kunstmuseum Winterthur).jpg, '' The playground''

References

* * Nagler, ''Allgemeines Künstler-Lexicon'', 1872, gives an account inter alia of his engraved works * Füssli, ''Neue Zusätze zu dem allgemeinen Künstler-Lexicon'' * ''Tübinger Morgenblatt'', 1808, p. 876 * Meusel, ''Neue Miscellaneen'', viii. 1052 * Fiorillo, ''Geschichte der Mahlerey'', v. 841, speaks of Agasse and Charles Ansell as the most celebrated English animal painters * Redgrave's ''Dictionary''.

External links

Global Gallery Bio & works

23 works by Jacques-Laurent Agasse at www.Jacques-Laurent-Agasse.org

Jacques-Laurent Agasse Paintings Gallery
(Public Domain Paintings - www.art.onilm.com) {{DEFAULTSORT:Agasse 1767 births 1849 deaths Swiss painters of animals Swiss landscape painters 18th-century artists from the Republic of Geneva 19th-century artists from the Republic of Geneva Swiss male painters 19th-century Swiss painters 19th-century Swiss male artists