Please join
The American Friends of the Mauritshuis
for a lively evening of art, conservation, cocktails, and hors d’oeuvres
“A Peek at Potter: The Restoration of The Bull (De Stier, 1647)”
Peek at Potter: Technical Examination of Potter’s
The Bull (De Stier)
Date and time
Date(s) – October 23, 2025
6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Location
The Explorers Club
46 East 70th Street
New York, NY 10021
A reception with drinks and substantial hors d’oeuvres to follow the talk.
The event is ticketed at $80, and proceeds will benefit the American Friends of the Mauritshuis and the Fulbright-AFMh Grant, awarded to an American graduate student in paintings conservation.
Imagine walking into the Mauritshuis and seeing a stall with a cow, a bull, sheep…and paintings restorers. For the last 1.5 years, conservators Abbie and Jolijn have been treating the museum’s largest seventeenth-century painting in front of the public. In this presentation, they will share stories and answer questions about the Bull’s…
- Creation: Why and how did Potter make so many changes as he developed his composition of the “ideal” bull?
- Turbulent history: Why did a “French Branch” suddenly appeare in the tree after the painting was looted by French troops and taken to Paris?
- Visual and chemical changes: Why isn’t the sky blue anymore, and why do the clouds look so different now?
- Restoration treatment: What steps did we follow, and what is it like to work in front of the public?
The restoration treatment will be finished in December, so now is your chance to hear the story “straight from the cow’s mouth”!
For tickets and more information, see afmauritshuis.org.