Rachel Ruysch

Her still lifes show a rich variety of flowers, often complemented by the presence of insects. She often places the vase on top of a table in order to create perspective. The flowers at the centre are usually lighter in colour, while the rest of the composition is harmoniously blended.

She was so successful that many of her paintings sold for more than Rembrandt’s. She became one of the wealthiest painters of her time.

Rachel Ruysch, born in The Hague in 1664, was the daughter of a botanist, Frederik Ruysch. It was through her father that she discovered her love of nature.

Her father admired her “inborn passion” and “indomittable energy and industry, and the fine examples of her own practice, without any teaching”.

In 1701, Ruysch’s talent earned her a membership in the painter’s guild of The Hague, the first woman to become a member in the history of the guild. From 1708 until 1716, she was court painter to Elector Palatine Johan Willem in Düsseldorf. A big achievement for any artist at the time, and specially for a woman.

In her flower pieces, Rachel Ruysch painted a wide variety of species that generally bloomed at different times of the year. Nature could not provide a bouquet like the one we see. Instead, she made use of drawings and prints to create unique flower pieces that only exist in her paintings.

When Ruysch was 15, her family had moved from The Hague to Amsterdam. There, she was apprenticed to the famous Willem van Aelst. Another important inspiration for her was Otto Marseus van Schriek, whose depictions of insects and reptiles are still very popular.

Such beautiful flower arrangements often look sacred, frozen in time. By painting little insects in her compositions, Ruysch adds life to a rather still image.

She married Juriaan Pool, a rather mediocre painter, with whom she had ten children. Sadly only three survived to adulthood. She still managed to paint all her life, support her family and enjoy the recognition of her fellow painters.

She started painting at a very young age, quickly earning the praise of many, and she continued to do so until her very last day, dying at the old age of 86. She proudly signed her late paintings with her age.