A wooded landscape (recto); and studies of horses (verso)

Jacques-Laurent Agasse came to London as a young man to work as an animal and sporting artist, invited by George Pitt, Lord Rivers (1751-1828), who became his chief patron. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1800 and 1845, often portraits of racehorses, as well as publishing sporting prints.
The landscape and sketches here were originally drawn on a single sheet of paper which was later split into two. The sketches of horses and riders relate to several large and important paintings, notably The Gate (1803) and Two Horses with a Groom (Tate, 1805), and demonstrate Agasse's interest in sketching from nature. The composition sketch at the foot of the sheet may relate to one of Agasse's large paintings, such as Smithfield Market (Yale Center for British Art, 1824).
Few watercolours by Agasse are known, but he was a member of the Sketching Society founded by the Chalon brothers in 1808, and they may well have encouraged him to experiment with landscape watercolours. This is a particularly strong example.