Flowers in a Terracotta Vase with Fruit on a Stone Balustrade 1700

Rachel Ruysch painted “Flowers in a Terracotta Vase with Fruit on a Stone Balustrade” sometime in the 18th century. Ruysch lived and worked in the Netherlands, a country that, through colonial exploitation, accumulated vast botanical knowledge, and a burgeoning market in luxury goods. The painting’s realism and refined elegance create a sense of wealth, but it is also worth noting that such realistic portrayals of flowers served a religious function. Ruysch, as other artists of her time, might have been painting "vanitas"—allegories about the fleeting nature of life itself. The lusciousness of the arrangement can therefore be understood as a reference to the transience of earthly life. Ruysch was the daughter of a scientist, and her understanding of the natural world gave her an edge in a competitive art market increasingly open to women artists. To understand the painting more fully, we can research the history of flower collecting and its relation to Dutch colonialism, as well as the rise of the art market and its impact on the production and reception of art.