Missing Cow Key to Rubens Restitution Dispute

The heirs of Abraham Adelsberger, a Jewish toy manufacturer who fled Nazi Germany, are seeking restitution of a landscape painting attributed to Peter Paul Rubens. The work has been held by a private collector since 1937, who has challenged the claim. Compounding the difficulty, expert Nils Büttner determined the painting is not an original Rubens but a workshop copy, with a key difference: the original in Munich's Alte Pinakothek features 11 cows, including one urinating, while the copy has only 10, as the urinating cow was painted over, likely to enhance marketability. Büttner noted that such imagery was considered unsuitable for mixed-gender spaces in the 17th century. Art historian Angela Vanhaelen of McGill University confirmed that animal bodily functions were common motifs, citing Rembrandt's 1633 etching "The Good Samaritan" with a defecating dog. The dispute now hinges on the provenance and authenticity of the work.