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Paulus Potter

Two Bulls Fighting

n.d.
Etching on ivory paper
10.5 × 14.1 cm (4.1 × 5.6 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Paulus Potter enjoyed great popularity as an animal painter and etcher. Other contemporary artists, like Aelbert Cuyp, also specialized in animals, and few Baroque Dutch landscapes were devoid of livestock. Yet Potter demonstrated his particularly close observation of the beasts—hooves, shaggy fur, limpid eyes, and all. Like his most famous painting, a lifesize portrait of a prize bull, this etching celebrates the fighting bulls’ physicality. Potter’s career was brilliant, but brief, for he died of tuberculosis before he turned 30.

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More by Paulus Potter

Orpheus and the AnimalsOrpheus and the AnimalsCows in a Meadow near a FarmCows in a Meadow near a FarmTwee paarden in de wei bij een hekTwee paarden in de wei bij een hekThe BullThe BullA herdsman's hutA herdsman's hutBear HuntBear HuntTwo Cows and a Young Bull beside a Fence in a MeadowTwo Cows and a Young Bull beside a Fence in a MeadowFour Young Bulls in a MeadowFour Young Bulls in a Meadow

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