The Mauritshuis in The Hague is home to a famous painting called The Bull by Paulus Potter. Conservators restoring it found a surprising secret. The bull's testicles were originally much larger than what we see now. They discovered this after 18 months of work and X-ray scans. Abbie Vandivere, the conservator, said, “We found that Potter made lots of changes as he worked. [The bull’s] balls were bigger and lower, his whole back end was shifted – but, indeed, the balls are the biggest change.” Experts checked old cattle breeds and found they had big, hanging testicles, matching Potter’s first version. It seems the artist reduced their size to suit 17th-century polite society. Another Potter work, an etching of a cow urinating, was rejected by Princess Amalia of Orange because it was “too filthy.” Jolijn Schilder, another conservator, said, “It is assumed that he got the order from Amalia van Solms, Princess of Orange, ... It was turned down by her because she thought it was too filthy a subject.” Born in 1625, Potter died young in 1654. The Bull was stolen by Napoleon’s troops and taken to Paris. It was popular there as it showed a life-sized cow, unusual for a simple farm animal to be painted so grandly. Schilder explained, “The French loved it.” After Napoleon’s defeat, the Dutch demanded The Bull’s return. When soldiers came to get it in 1815, the French tried to block them. Eventually, it was returned and has been treasured since. The restoration at Mauritshuis was shown publicly behind glass. While the bull’s original big testicles are visible in the scans, the final painting keeps their size modest in line with Potter’s last touch.