Rachel Ruysch

Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750)

Rachel Ruysch , born in The Hague on June 3, 1664and died in Amsterdam on August 12, 1750, is a Dutch painter who devoted all his life to the still lifes of flowers.

Daughter of Frederik Ruysch , a famous anatomist , her family moved to Amsterdam when she was only three years old. His father, who had found a job as a professor of botany , gathered a large collection of plants. She assisted her father in preparing flower specimens with balsamicum liquor and lace . Around the age of fifteen, she apprenticed to Willem van Aelst, a Delft painter known for her floral still lifes.

In 1693 , she married the portraitist Juriaen Pool (1666-1745), to whom she gave ten children.

She was admitted to the Hague painters' guild in 1701. A few years later, she was invited to Düsseldorfas a court painter to Elector Palatine Jean-Guillaume . She exercised this office from 1708 until the death of this prince in 1716. She worked alongside  Jan Weenixand Adriaen van der Werff . Back in Holland, Ruysch continued to paint for private individuals.

Ruysch is also known for the precision and realism of its representations of crystal vases. She painted all her life, from adolescence until her death. He is now credited with a hundred paintings. The background of his compositions is usually dark.