Hold onto your hats, art enthusiasts! A stunning revelation has emerged from the restoration of Paulus Potter's iconic 17th-century painting, The Bull – a national treasure with a surprisingly intimate secret. When conservators began the meticulous process of unveiling the masterpiece, they stumbled upon an unexpected detail: the original underpainting depicted a bull with significantly more prominent anatomy than the final version. But here's where it gets controversial...
The painting, once looted by Napoleon's troops, is undergoing a fascinating transformation as experts at the Mauritshuis in The Hague peel back the layers of time. The initial discovery? The original canvas, created by the then 22-year-old artist, featured a bull with notably larger testicles.
"During the technical examination, we found that Potter made lots and lots of changes as he worked, and not only to the composition. He literally enlarged the canvas," explained Abbie Vandivere, a conservator involved in the project. "It started as a smaller composition, just a painting of a bull, maybe with the cow in it. When he made the composition bigger, he made a ton of changes, also to parts of the bull’s anatomy…His balls were bigger and lower."
The experts were left to speculate whether this was a correction by the artist or a reflection of his observation of real-life bulls. "We have consulted quite a few cow experts and there are definitely breeds of cow that have giant, pendulous testicles," Vandivere noted, adding that the bull's age could also have played a role.
Jolijn Schilder, another paintings conservator, pointed out that Potter's work sometimes stirred controversy. "He had an etching of a pissing cow that created a bit of a controversy," she said, suggesting that the artist's bold approach might have been deemed too shocking for some. The etching, intended for a mantelpiece commission, was rejected by Amalia van Solms, princess of Orange, for being too "filthy."
The restoration of this monumental painting, created in 1647, has been a painstaking process, taking place behind glass in a dedicated gallery for 18 months. The project aims to shed light on Potter's tragically short life, as he died of tuberculosis at just 28, and to remind the public of the significance of this once-celebrated artwork.
The Bull was among the treasures seized from the Netherlands during the Napoleonic era and transported to the Louvre. The French were captivated by the painting. "They loved it," Schilder said, "and the fact that it wasn’t allegorical. It means nothing more than a group of animals in a landscape. They copied it, they made prints of it, they adored it, but they also restored it."
But what about the original intent? After the Dutch troops reclaimed the painting in 1815, The Bull returned in triumph. It became a symbol of national pride, even gracing the pages of children's reading guides. "It kind of became a symbol of the entire country, because it’s so relatable to the Dutch to have a cow and a bull," Vandivere explained. "It’s about reproduction, but also about agriculture, economics…even manure."
The restoration team faced the challenge of deciding which alterations to preserve and which to correct. A "French branch" added during a previous restoration was removed. The original anatomy of the bull, however, remains hidden, except for a separate display.
A new exhibition is planned for 2027, aiming to reintroduce Potter and The Bull to the public. "We call it," Schilder said, "our Moona Lisa."
What do you think? Is it surprising that the artist made such changes? Do you believe the original depiction would have altered the painting's reception? Share your thoughts in the comments!
