A flower bouquet by Rachel Ruysch. I have seen Ruysch’ paintings in different museums and studied how she, and other Golden Age flower painters, made these paintings.

Ruysch’ flower bouquets’ do not exist in real. Ruysch’ flower paintings show all flowers in bloom at the same time. We know that flowers bloom in different seasons. What you see in Ruysch’ paintings is that spring, summer, late summer, probably even beginning of the fall merged in one bouquet.

Golden Age floral painters made several sketches and paintings of flowers during the seasons. Sometimes artists waited whole seasons for a particular plant to flower so it could be drawn and later painted. They used their sketches often for more than one painting.

Rachel Ruysch had 10 children and kept painting till she was 84.

Rachel Ruysch Portrait by Godfried Schalcken.

Here is her extended biography.

Paula Kuitenbrouwer

Paula Kuitenbrouwer sells exquisite original art work (drawings and paintings), fine art cards, as well as larger reproductions, and smaller business-, gift- or mummy-cards. See Purchase in the header for what is available as well as the price list. In case you like to commission Paula, contact her at mindfuldrawing@gmail.com