Paulus Potter (baptised on
November 20, 1625 in Enkhuizen
– buried on January 17, 1654 in Amsterdam
) was a Dutch painter, specialized in animals in landscapes,
usually with a low point of view. Before Potter died of
tuberculosis, 28-years old, he
succeeded in producing about a hundred paintings, working
continuously.
Life
Few details are known of Potter's life.
In 1628 his family
moved to Leiden, and in 1631 to Amsterdam, where young Paulus studied painting with his
father, Pieter Symonsz Potter. After his mother died,
his father started an affair with the wife of Pieter Codde, also living in the fancy Sint
Antoniesbreestraat
. For some time his father was a manufacturer
of gilded
leather hangings outside
the city walls.
Potter
became a member of the Guild of
Saint Luke in Delft
, but by
1649, Paulus moved to The
Hague
, next to Jan van
Goyen. Potter married in the Hague and his
father-in-law, who was the leading building contractor in the
Hague, introduced him to the Dutch elite.
Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, a
member of the
stadholder's family and an
art-lover, bought a painting with a pissing cow, but some court
ladies seemed to have advised against it. By May 1652, after a case
about delivering a new painting, he returned to Amsterdam. Potter
was invited by
Nicolaes Tulp, who was
impressed by his civilized behavior and politeness. Potter painted
his son
Dirck Tulp, but only changed the
face on an earlier work he was not able to sell.
The Bull
The Bull (ca. 1647) by Paulus
Potter
His most
famous painting is The Bull (circa 1647), that is now in
Mauritshuis
in The
Hague, composed after drawings Potter made in
nature. Even this painting was critized, it was greatly
admired during the 19th century as an early example of
Romanticism.
References
- Liedtke, Walter A., Michiel Plomp, and Axel Rüger. 2001.
Vermeer and the Delft school. New York: Metropolitan
Museum of Art. ISBN 0870999737 p. 332.
- http://www.xs4all.nl/~kalden/dart/d-a-potter.htm
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