Portrait of a gentleman, full-length, in buff breeches with a dark blue jacket, sketching, his top-hat and gloves on a rock beside him, a landscape beyond

Firmin Massot was the foremost society portrait painter in Switzerland. He trained at the Société des Arts in Geneva alongside the sporting artist Jacques-Laurent Agasse (1767-1849) and the landscapist Adam Wolfgang Töppfer (1766-1847). All three became the chief exponents of the Geneva School and, until Agasse left for London in 1800, would sometimes collaborate on a single painting, with Massot painting the figures. Despite travelling to Italy (1787-8), England (1828-9) and France, Massot was predominantly based in Geneva, where he became the Director of the Academy and a leading member of the Société des Arts. He rarely signed and dated his works.