A Cow 1640 - 1654

"A Cow" is a small-scale oil painting on panel by Dutch Golden Age painter Paulus Potter, created between 1640 and 1654, shortly before the artist's untimely death at the age of 29. The work, now housed at the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, depicts a single cow standing in a field, rendered with meticulous detail and a sense of realism characteristic of Potter's animal studies. The painting's muted palette, dominated by earthy browns and greens, evokes the quietude of the Dutch countryside, while the subtle brushstrokes capture the texture of the cow's hide and the surrounding foliage.