"Still Life with Flowers on a Marble Tabletop," Rachel Ruysch, 1716.

Rachel Ruysch's still lifes are always worth revisiting. I've talked about her before, so I won't repeat myself, except to say the basics: She was a painter of florals and still lifes who was enormously popular and charged high prices in her lifetime, and is also the best-documented female artist of her time, thanks her to habit of adding her age to her signature on all her paintings. She is regarded as one of the greatest still life artists of all time.

Here we have a lovely bouquet with roses, pansies, irises, calendula, dianthus, and others, with a few insects buzzing about or landing on the petals. Her father was a teacher of anatomy and botany, so she learned to look at flowers and insects closely and examine their structure, to recreate them realistically on the canvas.

A perfect painting for Flower Friday!

From the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

"Still Life with Flowers," Rachel Ruysch, 18th century.

I've talked about Ruysch before, but to recap quickly, she was the best-documented woman painter of her time, with an enormously successful career, getting commissions from many wealthy and influential clients. Poets wrote elegies in honor of her death in 1750, and despite the fact that she specialized in florals, her work was highly praised and fetched high prices after her passing; she even outsold Rembrandt!

The daughter of a scientist and professor of botany, Ruysch depicted plants and flowers with meticulous detail, developing her own style that straddled the line between Baroque and Rococo. Even today, she is regarded as one of the most talented still life artists of all time, bar none.

Happy Flower Friday!

From the Hallwyl Museum, Stockholm.

"Flowers in a Glass Vase on a Marble Table," Rachel Ruysch, 1690.

I've talked about Ruysch before, so she needs no introduction except maybe a reminder that she achieved international fame in her lifetime and is the best-documented artist of the period.

This is typical of her work; the flowers are meticulously rendered and could almost be scientific illustrations. At the same time, the mass of roses, irises, lilies, tulips, and others don't all bloom at the same time, so this bouquet is a piece of fantasy.

Flowers for Friday!

From a private collection.

"Flowers in a Glass Vase with a Tulip," Rachel Ruysch, 1716.

Ruysch (1664-1750) had a long and acclaimed career as a painter of florals, having many commissions and gaining international fame in her lifetime. She even continued to paint after marrying, which raised a few eyebrows but it enriched her household.

She would sign and put her age on her paintings, showing that she painted from the age of 15 up until she was 83. This eases the documentation and analysis of her developing style. When she passed, eleven poets wrote tributes to her, and despite changing tastes toward floral paintings, hers remained popular and acclaimed.

This arrangement could never happen in real life; the flowers all bloom at different times of the year! She worked from her own illustrations of flowers, painting in meticulous detail. But it works.

From the National Gallery, London.

"Flowers in a Glass Vase," Rachel Ruysch, 1704.

Ruysch (1664-1750) created this bouquet from the imagination, by studying drawings of different flowers. This is one of art's great improbable bouquets, with flowers that bloom at different seasons. A floral fantasy, as it were.

Ruysch was a highly successful painter of the Dutch Golden Age, starting at around the age of 15 and painting until she was 83. (She had a habit of including her age with her signature.) Her works fetched high prices in her lifetime; more than Rembrandt! Florals were very much in demand at the time, so these became her specialty.

There's a spiritual dimension in this as well; Ruysch was known to be a pious woman who viewed flowers as one of the glories of Creation, but also used their brief bloom as a symbol of life's transitory nature. The insects that she throws in are viewed as symbols of the cycles of life.

From the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Rachel Ruysch (Dutch) - Still life with marigolds, morning glory, a passion flower and other assorted flowers, together with insects on a stone ledge, 1690 #RachelRuysch #Dutch #Netherlands #Art