Skip to content
Click to preview on a wall
Studies of Flowers by Jacques-Laurent Agasse

Studies of Flowers

By Jacques-Laurent Agasse, 1820

Scattered across a soft gray background, these flowers feel less like a finished painting and more like a peek into the artist's working process. Jacques-Laurent Agasse, a Swiss painter who spent much of his career in England, arranged these blooms not in a tidy bouquet but as separate studies, almost like notes jotted down on a page. You can spot roses, morning glories, carnations, daisies, and tall spikes of fireweed, each one carefully observed and painted with real attention to color and shape.

Agasse is best known for his animal paintings, especially horses and exotic creatures, so a flower study like this offers a quieter side of his talent. Works like this were often made as practice or reference, helping artists capture details they might later use in larger compositions. The plain background keeps the focus entirely on the plants themselves, letting each flower stand out on its own. It is a simple, honest piece that shows the patient eye of someone who clearly loved looking closely at the natural world.

More by Jacques-Laurent Agasse
Nine Greyhounds in a Landscape
Old Smithfield Market
Studies of a Fox, a Barn Owl, a Peahen, and the Head of a Young Man
Lord Rivers's Stud Farm, Stratfield Saye
Still Life

Similar tones

View of Ama-no-Hashidate
Naval Battle between Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter and the Duke of York
A map of the world, corrected from the observations communcated to the royals societys of London and Paris
A Landscape near Himmelbjerget, Jutland, in the Foreground a Gypsy Family
A Day of Celebration
Passion Flowers and Hummingbirds
Winter in New England
Fruit on a Table
After the Bath
Spring of Mountain (section 2)
Blue Poles
Carnival (section)