Bigger and lower': bull in Dutch painting once had much larger balls

"The surprise emerged when a team of conservators, who have been working for 18 months to restore the painting, made X-rays to understand how Potter created his composition of farming life. Looking at his preparatory sketches of cattle and consulting cattle experts, they found there were indeed contemporary breeds with giant, pendulous testicles. While Potter may have made the changes to portray a younger bull, the working theory is that the naked truth was considered unfit for polite society in 1647."

"He had an etching of a pissing cow that created a bit of a controversy, said Jolijn Schilder, a paintings conservator. It is assumed that he got the order from Amalia van Solms, Princess of Orange, and he was supposed to create a piece for one of the palaces. It was turned down by her because she thought it was too filthy a subject to show a pissing cow above her mantelpiece."

Conservators restoring The Bull at the Mauritshuis used X‑rays to examine preparatory sketches and found the bull's testicles were originally much larger and lower. The artist shifted the animal's whole back end and reduced the size of the testicles in the finished composition. The conservation team worked for 18 months and consulted cattle experts, finding contemporary breeds with giant, pendulous testicles. The prevailing theory is that the depiction was toned down to meet 17th‑century standards of decorum, though portraying a younger bull is an alternative explanation. An etching by the same artist entitled Pissing Cow was rejected by Amalia van Solms as too filthy for a mantelpiece.

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