Tip: move over the painting to use the lens.
Two Cows and a Young Bull beside a Fence in a Meadow
Paulus Potter · 1647
- Artist
- Paulus Potter (Dutch, 1625–1654)
- Date
- 1647
- Medium
- Oil on panel
- Size
- 49.5 × 37.2 cm (19 1/2 × 14 3/4 in.); Framed: 70.2 × 58.1 × 4.5 cm (27 5/8 × 22 7/8 × 1 3/4 in.)
- Made in
- Netherlands
- Style
- Realism
- Where to see it
- Art Institute of Chicago
In loving memory of Harold T. Martin from Eloise W. Martin, wife, and Joyce Martin Brown, daughter; Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection; Lacy Armour Endowment; through prior gift of Frank H. and Louise B. Woods · CC0 Public Domain · Art Institute of Chicago · image via Wikimedia Commons · see it at the museum ↗
Notes from the museum
Paulus Potter, a prolific painter and etcher during his short life, elevated images of cows, oxen, and other domestic animals to majestic emblems of nature. His lavish attention to the physical appearances of such beasts—the varied texture and coloring of their hair, their characteristic poses, their bulky contours—borders on portraiture and likely derived from drawings he made from life. With Potter, animal painting blossomed into an independent genre in the Dutch Republic.
Text: Art Institute of Chicago (open access). Our full story for this work is coming soon.
Slow Look
- The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
- The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
- The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
- One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
- The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?
About Paulus Potter
Paulus Potter was a Dutch painter who specialized in landscapes featuring animals, often from a low vantage point.
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