“Flower Still-Life” by Rachel Ruysch

Ever hear of the Dutch Golden Age painter Rachel Ruysch? (1664–1750) I sure hadn’t, until my U. Maryland art history professor showed us why she’s a fan.  She explained that it was quite rare for women in that time and place to achieve great success, and the few who did paint stuck to the lower prestige subjects at the time – still life.  And most still life was pretty dull.  (Source.)

But Ruysch painted floral works that avoided the usual perfection, featuring not just perfect flowers but dirt and bugs and plant detritus of all types.  The painting above, Flower Still Life (1726) is full of examples.

Against a dark background, in the style of flower painting from the second half of the seventeenth century, Rachel Ruysch composed a lush floral arrangement, including many flowers that would never actually bloom at the same time. Among this array of blossoming and wilting plants, a closer look reveals caterpillars crawling along the stem of a flower and browning leaves riddled with holes made by hungry insects. Such vivid details suggest the fragility of the arrangement, even alluding to the fact that beauty fades and all living things must die.  Source.

Drawing inspiration from the tradition of Dutch 17th-century “forest floor” still lifes—characterized by meticulous depictions of insects, plants, and other natural elements—Ruysch developed a distinctive style that subtly evolved over her career. “The independent still life genre is ultimately where she found her niche as an artist, and she continues to paint this for the rest of her life,” shares Haboldt.  Source.

Over the course of her career, Ruysch became celebrated for her remarkably detailed flower still lifes. Vase of Flowers with an Ear of Corn (1742), a striking composition created when the artist was nearly 80 years old, features a remarkable bouquet of roses, tulips, carnations, forget-me-nots, and a double hyacinth, accompanied by an ear of corn resting on the ledge.  Source.

Another cool painting features even more insects: 

“Posy of Flowers with a Beetle on a Stone Ledge” (1741)

Who was Rachel Ruysch 

Ruysch’s father, a renowned anatomy and botany professor in Amsterdam, built a personal collection of natural specimens and shared it with the public. Through her father, Ruysch had access to Amsterdam’s botanical gardens, where she encountered both native and newly introduced plant species—many brought to Europe through exploration, trade, and colonization. Her paintings are masterpieces of artistic skill and scientific inquiry and reveal the profound ways in which art and science intertwined during the Scientific Revolution…

The most famous female painter in the Golden Age of Dutch Art, Ruysch enjoyed an international reputation over a career that lasted almost seven decades. Source: Toledo museum. 

 Oh, and she had 10 children! Still…

Other women at this time were expected to participate in art forms more traditionally practiced by women, such as sewing and spinning. Ruysch continued to work as a painter throughout her marriage, supported by the strong demand for her flower pieces and the high prices they commanded. Her paintings often earned more than the portrait work her husband undertook, and her established reputation enabled her to maintain a professional career alongside raising a family. Wiki.

Landscapes and everyday life, too

My professor shared her love of Northern European painting of that era, with subjects from everyday life and landscapes, too. Examples are “View of Delft” and “Woman with a Pearl” by Johannes Vermeer. Buyers of art were prosperous merchants.

What a Contrast with Southern European Art!

We were shown this portrait of Louis XIV by Rigaud (1701) to show how different the Dutch art we’d been studying was from art of Italy and France, where works were commissioned by royalty and the Catholic  Church.  The professor turned her back to this painting and said if she never saw this painting again it would be too soon. 

I love a professor who’s not shy with her opinions!

The best lecturer I’ve ever had in my 14 years taking undergraduate classes is this brilliant woman with a big personality, seen from my typical seat in the lecture hall. I’m so sad the class is over.