Paulus Potter (1625-1654) developed into the most important painter of the pure animal. The painter owes his first fame to the monumental 'Portrait of a young bull' (1647).
In addition to cows, Potter also portrayed horses and dogs. With these paintings it is striking that Potter made use of direct studies into nature; bones, muscle mass and skin are clearly distinguishable from cattle. In addition to the animal portrait, the farm performance was also a favorite theme of the painter. 'The large farm' (1649) from the Hermitage is undoubtedly his masterpiece and, as it were, summarizes his entire oeuvre. More than thirty animals and a dozen figures have been brought together in a balanced composition full of anecdotal details.
In this first monograph on Paulus Potter the reader can get acquainted with the unsuspected qualities of the 'beast painter' of the Golden Age. More than 140 paintings and drawings show the versatility with which he recorded the Dutch countryside.