Paulus Potter

After first focusing on historical themes, he soon turned his artistic attention to his love of animals, especially cattle. His patience was unmatched when it came to studying these animals’ hides, postures and expressions, before making paintings and etchings of them in hyper-realistic style. He often showed them in expansive, sunlit landscapes. Horses at a fence, bulls in a pasture. He was known as the ‘the animal painter’ . It was through his wealthy and well-connected mother that around 1650, Potter started attracting wealthy patrons in The Hague. They included members of the Dutch royal family. He would not be able to enjoy his success for very long, however, because at the age of 29 he died of tuberculosis.