Rachel Ruysch, 'Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase on a Marble Ledge', 1710

At the time this picture was made, Rachel Ruysch was Court Painter to the Elector Palatine, Johan Willem II, in Düsseldorf. In her forties and with ten children, she was one of the most celebrated flower still-life painters of her day, and this is one of her finest images. She shows us a sumptuous display of roses, tulips and a sunflower. These are surrounded by more commonplace blooms like alliums and carnations. Here is a bouquet full of delights to discover and enjoy.

The clutch of full-blown roses dominates the centre of the composition. To one side, the light catches an opening rose with a companion bud, revealing their different stages of development. Above these sits a costly Semper Augustus tulip. Ruysch deliberately peeled back a petal of the tulip to display the stamens. This revealing technique would have been of great interest to viewers. Newly invented microscopes were causing excitement by providing opportunities to study plants and insects at unprecedented close range. As the daughter of Amsterdam botanist, physician and anatomist Frederick Ruysch, the artist would have grown up learning about plants first-hand, informing her detailed botanical knowledge and artistic approach. Flowers were extremely expensive during this period, and the entire bouquet probably cost more than the painting itself.

The picture bursts with life and motion. Butterflies and bees land for just a moment. Their feelers twitch and wings flutter. Flies and beetles float and step lightly all around. A huge dragonfly sits to look at the honeysuckle trumpet reaching towards it. You can almost hear leaves rustling, as if a window has just been opened. A second striped tulip bends up through pear blossom branches towards the first, as if pushed by a light wind. This tulip finishes the strong upward curve on the left side of the display. The red poppy at the very top grabs our eye before it fades into the dark space beyond. Ruysch did not follow Jan van Huysum’s use of light backgrounds as seen in his Glass Vase with Flowers, with a Poppy and a Finch Nest. Her art stayed true to her own style instead of chasing what was in fashion. She kept the deep black backgrounds from the last century, making her scenes feel both real and magical at once.

Ruysch learnt from still-life artist Willem van Aelst. He taught her about the flowing S-line that runs through many of his paintings. These curves add motion, bring unity, and create grace and rhythm in Ruysch’s work. They turn still objects into lively scenes that seem to pulse with natural energy. The strongest curve here is the S-shape made by the Semper Augustus stem. It flows down behind the pink rose, over the partly hidden yellow tulip, then down the broken sunflower stem lying on the base. This fallen flower’s weight seems to hold the whole scene still for a brief instant. Its dying petals show the fate of all flowers and indeed all living things. This may be a quiet hint of life’s brief span amid such rich beauty.