Flower Paintings of Rachel Ruysch
What to watch...
Still Life paintings date back to the 15th Century, but it was seen as a lowly genre for many years. It wasn't until the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th Century, that it was elevated to the status of history and portrait painting, with the emerging middle-classes who wanted to decorate their homes with floral scenes. Rachel Ruysch became famous for her paintings of still lifes, especially flowers in vases. Being the daughter of a botanist allowed her to study flowers under a microscope and this is why her paintings are full of accurate details. Watch our film on her 1716 work 'Flowers in a Glass Vase with a Tulip' to discover the memento mori message hidden in the work.
Did You Know?
Rachel Ruysch was one of the first women to achieve an international reputation as an artist. She was a hugely popular artist during the 17th and 18th centuries even more so than her contemporary Rembrandt van Rijn. Whilst Rembrandt’s paintings fetched around 500 guilders, Ruysch’s would make between 750 and 2000 guilders. Ruysch was married to painter Jurriaen Pool and they had 10 children together. It is believed that Pool gave up his profession to look after the children, making Ruysch the main breadwinner - which was highly unusual for this time!