Conformation and the Parade Ring · The First Stables
The “Piebald” Horse
Paulus Potter, c. 1650–1654 · oil on canvas
What it is
A spotted horse stands in profile on a flat Dutch field under a large sky, painted by Paulus Potter in oil on canvas around 1650 to 1654.
Why it matters
Potter painted animals from a low point of view, and he died of tuberculosis at 28 having made about a hundred pictures.
What to notice
The dark spots run across the white coat like a map, and tiny riders cross the plain behind.
One horse, the whole sky.
Provenance
- Maker
- Paulus Potter, c. 1650–1654
- Era
- Before the Turf (1500–1700)
- Chapter
- The Yard Wakes
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Made
- 1654
- Source
- J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles · via Wikimedia Commons
Rights: CLEAR. Public domain — U.S. 95-year rule (published 1930 or earlier). Gated by the work’s own year of publication. Cleared by registry on 2026-11-01. Wikimedia Commons licence tag, read 2026-11-01: PD-Art|PD-old-auto-1923|deathyear=1654. The maker died in 1654. Year for the gate, from the record: about 1650–1654; latest year used.
Format
The full-resolution, color-managed file — restored honestly, yours to print and keep.
Sized to protect print quality — this scan supports sizes up to 18x24" cleanly.
Size
$29.00
More from the Stable Wall
Elsewhere in the family
- The Links — the other morning religion.
- Painted Lineage — the bloodline, beside the family line.
- Painted Earth — home ground as a period map.