Jacques-Laurent Agasse was born into a wealthy Geneva merchant family of Huguenot origin. From an early age, he showed interest in drawing and attended the Calabri drawing school. In 1786, he left for Paris to continue his training in Jacques-Louis David's studio. The French Revolution forced him to return to Geneva, but he was soon invited to England by a young man with a passion for animal depictions. Agasse settled in London in 1800, where he became a painter of horses and dogs for wealthy aristocrats. He exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and other London institutions and succeeded in building up his reputation. However, he remained misunderstood by his contemporaries and critics, who considered him a second-rate master. Today, Jacques-Laurent Agasse is recognized as a major painter with a great talent for depicting animals and for his mastery of anatomical studies. His unique style combines the influence of the Geneva school with the techniques and inspirations he discovered in England. The two left hands depicted here by Jacques-Laurent Agasse were most certainly drawn from a mannequin, such as those found in artists' studios and drawing schools. Emphasis is placed on the veins and bone structure, which are highly visible and marked, and must have come from a skeleton mannequin. The remarkable focus on the light and shadow brings out the skeletal aspect of the hands, giving the drawing a poignant quality.