Object Image

Still Life, Flowers and Insects

On a marble slab, a bouquet of flowers comprising among other flowers of roses, poppies, convolvuli, pinks and honeysuckle. Beetle, butterfly and moth can be spotted in the composition as well. The bouquet is dramatically lit against dark background as it was a typical feature of baroque painting. Ruysch was exceptionally skilled artist. Her composition bursts in mixture of bold and dynamic colours, forms and textures, all captured with a meticulous attention to detail. For Ruysch, leaves are just as important as the flowers. Therefore, work creates such a strong immediate illusion of realism that the viewer could almost reach for the flowers and touch them.

While it is only natural for viewer...

c. 1720-1730
Oil on canvas
612.0 x 541.0mm
104
Images and text: CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection, 2024