Rachel Ruysch: Nature in Art, Toledo Museum
“Flowers in a Glass Vase,” Rachel Ruysch, 1704
Toledo Museum of Art / Detroit Institute of Arts
By Debra Griboff (Posted 4/26/25)
Flowers in a Glass Vase, Rachel Ruysch is not an 18th-century Dutch painter known to the public — but in the era of Tulipmania, her paintings sold better than Rembrandt.
The Toledo Museum of Art is about to elevate her visibility, with Ruysch’s first monographic exhibition, “Nature in Art,” running through July 27.
The show is comprised of 50 Ruysch paintings, alongside illustrated books, drawings and botanical and zoological specimens. It celebrates her skillful brushwork, botanical diversity and sizable achievements. Paintings have been culled from European and American public and private collections, including works never before seen publicly.
A realistic, detailed painter, she received early art training, apprenticed at 15 to one of the top still-life painters of the day. Ruysch painted in an age when art was championed as part of scientific pursuits, a branch of natural philosophy. Her sister Anna’s work is also included in the show, as well as other women artists who painted botanical scenes.
Rachel and Anna, born into an upper-class family, were the daughters of Frederik Ruysch, an acclaimed professor of anatomy and botany.
“Despite her exceptional career, Ruysch’s contributions to art history have been under-explored,” said Robert Schindler, a curator at the Toledo Museum of Art.
Gender norms meant women were excluded from historical painting, since they often featured nudes. Still, Ruysch’s pursued her floral passion, even while raising 11 children.
In 1701, Ruysch became a member of the painters’ guild in The Hague, producing large flower canvases for a global clientele. Several years later, she was invited to Düsseldorf to serve as court painter to Johann Wilhelm, the Elector Palatine of Bavaria. She remained there from 1708 until the prince’s death in 1716. She died in 1750.
Most impressive, Ruysch painted her last piece at 83.