Art Guide · Painters
Rachel Ruysch
1664–1750
Rachel Ruysch (1664–1750) was one of the most celebrated Dutch flower painters. Over a career of some seventy years she became one of the best-paid artists of her time.
Last updated: · Iconica Society editors
Life and work
She was the daughter of the famous anatomist and botanist Frederik Ruysch, whose collection of plants and insects served as her models from childhood. She trained with the flower painter Willem van Aelst. Though she had ten children she never stopped painting, and from 1708 to 1716 she was court painter to the Elector Palatine in Düsseldorf.
Ruysch’s bouquets are known for their asymmetric, lively compositions, flowers glowing against dark grounds and insects hidden among the blooms. Because she combined flowers that bloom in different seasons in one vase, these paintings are less a real bouquet than a celebration of nature’s abundance.
Key works
Shop Rachel Ruysch posters →Frequently asked questions
Are the bouquets in Ruysch’s paintings real?
No; she studied flowers that bloom in different seasons separately and combined them in a single composition.