WORK OF THE WEEK: RACHEL RUYSCH, (1664-1750), BOUQUET OF FLOWERS IN A GLASS VASE ON A MARBLE TABLE, 1748 at Colnaghi, London

This exquisite work by the famed Dutch botanical artist Rachel Ruysch is part of an enchanting exhibition which focuses on female still life artists of the late 16th and early 17th century. Forbidden Fruit: Female Still Life at the Colnaghi Gallery in London shows us a long ignored body of work-much of it previously hidden away in private collections. Rachel Ruysch (1664 - 1750), contributed much to the advancement of science through her practice. This is a small oil painting on wooden panel and it is believed to be the very last of her works, painted when she was well into her eighties. We know this as she not only signed the work on the bottom right but also inscribed her age…twice…84 and then 85 which means she continued to work on this painting until her 85th year.

Rachel Ruysch was born in The Hague, the daughter of the botanist, physician and anatomist, Frederik Ruysch. Her family settled in Amsterdam when she was young and she trained there with the well known flower painter, Willem van Aelst, from 1679.

In the 1680s, Ruysch was influenced by the still life painter Otto Marseus van Schriek, who was famous for his representations of dark forest flora with insects and lizards.

Ruysch worked in The Hague from 1701 to 1708, where she was the first female member of the artist’s society, Confrerie Pictura. From 1708 until 1716, she was court painter to the Elector Palatine, Johan Willem, in Düsseldorf.

Forbidden Fruit at Colnaghi Gallery London, April 27 through June 24, 2022