Rachel Ruysch

Rachel Ruysch (1664 - 1750) was a Dutch flower painter. Her father was a botanist, and her meticulous works are known for their botanical accuracy.

She worked for many years as a court painter, and continued to paint into her eighties, producing over a hundred works that are known today.

This painting has the very dark background that was popular in still life paintings of the period, used as a foil for the bright colours of flowers and fruit, and the glint of crystal or brass. Later, after seeing the lighter backgrounds in the work of her contemporary, Jan van Huysum, she began to lighten her own, while keeping them neutral.

detail

From the Frans Hals Museum

Floris Gerritsz van Schooten

Willem Claesz Heda
Jan Jansz. van de Velde

Old Dutch Master Flower Pieces

Unknown

Elias van den Broek

Gaspar Peeter Verbruggen the Younger

Georgius van Os

Hans Bollongier

(Some of these artists may be Flemish not Dutch)

Cornelis Kick

Simon Luttichuys

Luttichuys was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age.

The subdued palette, consisting of interesting greys, browns and whites, and the composition with its central glass, is restful to the eye.

Interesting greys can be made by mixing colours which are opposite on the colour wheel. If the colours are incompletely mixed, with suggestions of the constituent pigments visible, then the greys become vibrant and alive. A subdued palette does not have to be a dead one. The absence of bright colours in this case allows the painting to showcase the subtle play of light on various objects: reflective metal, transparent glass, absorptive cloth.