Paulus Pietersz. Potter

Private Collection, Switzerland, by 1950;
Rodolphe Hottinger, Geneva, by 1996;
By whom anonymously sold, New York, Sothebys, October 3, 1996, lot 121;
Whereby acquired by the present collector.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting on wood has been fairly recently restored and could be hung as is. The panel is made from a single piece of oak which is un-reinforced and the paint layer is stable. While the animals themselves and the small amount of landscape is in healthy condition, the sky has become quite abraded and has received fairly extensive retouches throughout to diminish the abrasion; the retouches however are sympathetic. The picture looks well as is and should be hung in its current condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The present picture is comparable to another autograph Potter from 1652, in the Museo del Prado (inv. no. 2131), depicting two cows arranged in the same position as the presnt composition. A drawing catalogued in an exhibition from The Hague shows a study for the standing cow and exhibits Potter's detailed and highly technical draftsmanship.¹ If we were to examine the Amsterdam Historical Museum drawing, a greater sense of the scientific observation with which Potter approached his subjects is gained. The drawing is "loose, yet finely structured, particularly in the rendering of the animal's coats."² The same can be said for the present composition. Potter's keen observation of anatomical minutia, most clearly the cow's coats is what makes these relatively mundane compositions so alarmingly beautiful. Here, Potter consciously represents two different breeds of cow, with different builds and coloring. By deliberately setting two different cows within close proximity, their individual traits, and thus Potter's skill in rendering those traits, stand out with even more acuteness. The standing cow to the left, slightly thinner than that of his seated companion, is shown with slightly protruding ribs, covered by its shimmering black and white coat, each hair clearly delineated. The seated cow to the right however is more brooding. It has fullness, and a sense of weight which gives it a great sense of monumentality, a direct result of the artist's ability to breathe life into a painted surface.

1.   A.Walsh, E. Buijsen, & B. Broos, Paulus Potter: Paintings, drawings, and etchings, exhibition catalogue, The Hague 1994, p. 178, under. no. 42, reproduced p. 179.
2.   Ibid.