A Landscape with a Herd of Pigs, The Swineherd Conversing with Another Man

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Artist: Paulus Potter (Dutch, 1625–1654)
Medium: Oil on panel
Size: 18 1/4 × 24 5/8 in. (46.36 × 62.55 cm) (sight)
Museum: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Rights: Public Domain Mark

The wealthy urban merchants of Holland in the 1600s relished humorous images of rural peasants, farms, and animals found in the countryside that surrounded the cities. Paulus Potter specialized in pictures of Dutch cows and hogs, painted in detail and with great affection. Here, two animated farmers or swineherds catch up near a crumbling well structure, while nine hogs sleep and stand around them. The hogs are the real subject matter of the painting, and each of them has individual features and a seemingly independent personality. If you were to have a party with pigs, you would definitely want to invite this group—but perhaps not the urinating swine on the far right.

Text: Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), CC BY 4.0.