The Bull

We continue our partnership with Mauritshuis in the Hague, thanks to whom we can publish the masterpieces from their collection on Sundays. Enjoy! :)

What makes this painting so special is the fact that Potter painted such an everyday subject, a bull in a meadow, in a very large format and with great attention to detail. From the flies buzzing around the bull’s back to the frog in the foreground. Potter placed the bull prominently in the center of the painting and depicted it slightly from below, so that it seems to tower above the horizon. It is summer. A lark flies high in the sky and the sun is shining, but at the right a brewing storm casts a dark shadow on the sunny meadow. The church of Rijswijk is visible on the horizon, which places the scene just outside The Hague, where Potter was living when he painted this picture.

Viewers have traditionally assumed that Potter (1625–1654) portrayed a real bull, but nothing could be further from the truth. Cattle specialists have observed that the bull has the horns of a two-year-old animal, but the teeth of a four- or five-year-old. Moreover, it has the shoulders of an adult bull, but the hindquarters of a young animal. The pose is not right either: the shoulders and hindquarters are depicted at a slight angle, while the mid-section is straight. A bull couldn’t possibly stand like that.

Apparently Potter used preparatory studies of various bulls of different ages. By selecting his best studies, he sought to portray the bull as convincingly as possible: not too small, not too big; strong, but not too fat. Potter was only twenty-one when he painted The Bull. His paintings of cows and sheep were usually much smaller, so it is likely that The Bull was a commission, though its patron and destination are unknown. Seven years after painting The Bull, Potter died of “too much painting,” according to his family.

It's one of my favorite paintings from Mauritshuis, a perfect one for a selfie! :)