Old Masters, Paulus Potter, Cattle in Landscapes, Antique Prints, Paris, Late 18th Century

Paulus Potter was a Dutch painter, draftsman and etcher, known as one of the foremost 17th-century artists to depict animals, especially cattle, horses and other farm animals, which he usually depicted in landscape settings. His empathic portraits of animals, focusing on them as subjects rather than part of the backdrop to human action, influenced his contemporaries as well as later generations of European artists. He sketched from life in the countryside, and was also interested in the nuances of animal behavior at different times of day and in different weather conditions. Potter’s naturalistic vision of rural life struck a chord with later generations of collectors, and were particularly popular in France and Britain during the late 18th and the 19th centuries. Potter’s most celebrated works are the life-size painting Young Bull (1647) in the Mauritshuis musuem in The Hague, and Orpheus Charming the Beasts (1650), in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Other works are in museums such as the National Galleries of Art in the U.S. and the U.K. and The Getty, Los Angeles.

Jacques Couché was an intaglio print artist specializing in both engraving and etching. He was born in Gournay in 1750 according to some, and in Abbeville in 1759 according to others. He was a pupil of Aliamet and Levasseur. As engraver to the Duke of Orléans, he supervised the publication of the Galerie du Palais Royal (1786-1808).

Condition: Generally very good with the usual light toning, wear, soft creases. Margins irregularly cut, but ample, and can be framed as a uniform set.

References:

“Paulus Potter.” The Getty. 2000. http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/bio/a262-1.html (16 January 2003).

“Potter.” The Grove Dictionary of Art. New York: Macmillan. 2000. Online at Artnet.com. http://www.artnet.com/library/06/0690/T069032.asp (16 January 2003).