Good for a Girl: Rachel Ruyschs' Still Life with Flowers on a Marble Tabletop

Good for a girl: Rachel Ruyschs' Still Life with Flowers on a Marble Tabletop

In the early 16th century the Netherlands experienced what was called "tulip mania" this was the beginning of the nations love for flora and foliage (Taylor 13). The result of this impressive flower invasion was a society that took a historical turn from which the results still remain today. Flower merchants, botanists and floral still life artists, were occupations that were an accurate reflection of the Netherlands demands (Brown). An interesting example of a life that was effected by, and devoted to the archiving of the flower craze was Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750) the 17th century Dutch flower painter. Rachel Ruyschs' career straddled the 17th and 18th century, and her stunningly accurate floral pieces reflect the maturing, yet evolving art of floral still life painting ("Rachel Ruysch: Bibliography"). Ruyschs' Still Life with Flowers on a Marble Tabletop (1716) is an excellent example of a painting that appropriately represents the genre of art that was created solely through specific societal events.

The rampant speculation during the flower craze, eventually led the Netherlands to a stock market crash in 1637(Taylor 40). The events leading up to and following "tulip mania" were embedded in history, and archived in paintings. Ruychs career did not begin until well after the crash; however floral artists continued right through the crash and well on to the next century ("Rachel Ruysch: Bibliography"). Flowers continued to be an extremely popular subject matter in painting. What is unique about the work of Rachel Ruysch, and in particular Still Life with Flowers on a Marble Tabletop, is that they were created at the turn of the century and at a point when floral still life was evolving (Taylor 45) . Early flower paintings tended to have static symmetrical compositions like the works of Ambrosius Bosschaert (1573-1621), but flourished into more lively expressions when artists like Willem van Aelst (1627-1687) started to make use of the S curve composition. While studying under van Aelst, Ruysch employed the use the S curve, which distinguishes her paintings from less dynamic earlier work. Ruyschs' pieces also stand out because of her use of lighting. A spotlight is an appropriate analogy for Ruyschs approach. One central point will be highlighted while the rest of her composition lurks in the shadows. Her lighting technique distinguishes her work from later painters like Jan van Huysum who moved towards the use of lighter backgrounds Still life with flowers" 1-3). Ruyschs' works have qualities from both the 16th and 17th centuries, and are indicative of progression of the Netherlands art. They confirm that the enthusiasm for floral painting was not short lived .

Although flower painting lived beyond the craze that sparked it, Rachel Ruysch did not. In the early 20th century Art History was deemed an academic discipline; however instead of accounting for a variety of different histories that had occurred in art it became a select one