POTTER, PAUL, a distinguished animal-painter, was born at Enkhuijsen in 1625. His father, who bore the same name, was an artist of moderate ability, and from him he received his instruction. At the age of fifteen he was considered quite a prodigy in painting; nature was his sole instructor, and her works his only models. Landscapes were the subordinate parts of his pictures; and he chose to bring into prominence those pastoral scenes where cattle could be shown browsing or ruminating. The bull and the cow, the sheep, the ass, and the goat, are rendered with surprising accuracy and skill. His colouring is clear and transparent; his execution firm, and finished without the appearance of effort. At the age of twenty he removed to the Hague, married, and remained about six years. He gained the acquaintance of Maurice, Prince of Orange, who liberally patronized him. The pressing invitation of Tulk, burgomaster at Amsterdam, induced him to remove to that city in 1652. Here he continued with the most untiring devotion to pursue, regardless of seasons, the study of those objects which came within the scope of his profession. He broke his health, and was attacked by pulmonary disease, which terminated his life in 1654, in the 29th year of his age.