Rachel+Ruysch

At fifteen Ruysch was apprenticed to Willem van Aelst, a prominent Delft painter, known for his flower paintings. In 1693, she married a portrait painter, Juriaen Pool (1666–1745), with whom she had ten children. Ruysch was extremely pious. In 1701 Ruysch was inducted into the painters' guild in The Hague. Several years later Ruysch was invited to work for the court in [|Düsseldorf] and serve as court painter to Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine. She remained working for him and his wife from 1708 until the prince's death in 1716. Also Jan Weenix and Adriaen van der Werff were invited to deliver paintings, after Eglon van der Neer died. Ruysch lived eighty-five years and her dated works establish that she painted from the age of 15 until she was an octogenarian.
 * Rachel Ruysch** was a Dutch artist whose art works focused around still-life paintings of flowers. She is considered to be one of only three significant women artists in the Dutch Golden Age of painting. About a hundred paintings from her are known.The background of the paintings are usually dark. Ruysch was also noted for her paintings of detailed and realistic crystal vases.

Here is an example of her work: "Still-Life with Bouquet of Flowers and Plums", 1704, [|Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium]