As one of the most celebrated Dutch artists of her time, floral still life painter Rachel Ruysch (1664–1750) became a key figure in contemporary botanical art. Her artwork was found in collections owned by the Amsterdam elite, the Medici family, and Elector Johann Wilhelm Von der Pfalz (1658–1716). Influenced by Dutch seventeenth-century artists such as Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606–1684), she used colour and light to create perspective, and her dynamic compositions were influenced by her teacher, Willem van Aelst (1627–1683). In addition, her artworks testify to her botanical knowledge. She portrayed exotic and local flowers in different stages of growth, which she was able to observe and study in great detail in the hortus botanicus where her father, Frederick Ruysch (1638–1731), taught botany. In Still Life with Flowers in a Glass Vase (c. 1690–1720) and Still Life with Flowers on a Marble Table Top (1716), for example, each flower petal and leaf is depicted with great precision.

She was born in The Hague and her family moved to Amsterdam in 1666, when her father was appointed as professor of both anatomy and botany. He acquired fame for his pioneering method of preserving body parts and flowers, which he also showcased in his cabinet of curiosities. His cabinet was admired and visited by many professors, members of high society and even monarchs.

R. Ruysch’s father drew solely to illustrate his research, but her own artistic talents were most likely inherited from her mother, Maria Post (1643–1720), who came from a prominent artistic family. Her detailed and sophisticated drawings of her father’s botanical collection were incorporated in the publication of a twelve-volume catalogue. Through these drawings, R. Ruysch greatly contributed to the spread of her father’s fame as a scientific pioneer.

At the age of fifteen, she had the opportunity to be apprenticed to renowned painter W. van Aelst. Like him, she depicted forest backgrounds with insects and flowers, also known as sottoboschi. Soon after, she transitioned to painting wildflower bouquets. Her growing reputation as a talented painter resulted in her appointment as a member of The Hague’s Confrerie Pictura in 1699. She was the first female artist to receive this honour.

Some years later, her artistic skills were noticed by J. W. von der Pfalz during his visit to the Netherlands. He appointed her as court painter in 1708, a position that was only granted to one other Dutch woman flower painter, Maria van Oosterwijck (1630–1693). For eight years, R. Ruysch sent one flower still life annually to the court in Düsseldorf, while residing in Amsterdam with her husband, the portraitist Jurriaan Pool (1665–1745), and their ten children.

After the death of the Elector, his wife, Anna Maria Luisa de Medici (1667–1743), transferred much of their art collection to her family home in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, including R. Ruysch’s paintings, where they were displayed and are still located. This serves as a testament to the high esteem she held as an artist during her life.