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Still Life with Flowers
Rachel Ruysch (Dutch, 1664–1750)
1709
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
78 x 64 cm (30 x 25.2 in.)
Framed: 101.6 x 87.6 cm (40 x 34 1/2 in.)
Framed: 101.6 x 87.6 cm (40 x 34 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Promised gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art
Accession NumberL-R 253.2017
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CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
A century of European flower painting culminated in the work of Rachel Ruysch, who arranged her flowers in brilliantly animated compositions—follow the S-curve that connects the tulip at upper right with the marigold that droops below the tabletop. Ruysch grew up in a family of artists and scientists. Her father, Frederik, was a famous anatomist and botanist, who introduced her to the study of plants. Her sister Anna also took up flower painting. Ruysch worked well into her eighties, serving as a court painter to Johann Wilhelm, the Elector Palatine. She consistently received high prices for her work, and one collector reportedly paid 1500 guilders for a pair of her pictures. Only a few Dutch painters were routinely paid as much.
ProvenanceBy 1805, Maximilian IV Joseph, Elector of the Palatinate-Bavaria, later Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria (b. 1756 - d. 1825), Mannheim and Schleissheim [see note 1]; by inheritance to his son, Ludwig I, King of Bavaria (b. 1786 - d. 1868), Schleissheim; 1836, transferred to the Alte Pinakothek, Munich (inv. no. 888) [see note 2]; 1937, deaccessioned by the Alte Pinakothek and given to Galerie Neumann and Salzer, Vienna [see note 3]. 1937, sold by John Mitchell and Son, London to George L. Lazarus (b. 1904 – d. 1997), Buckinghamshire [see note 4]; 1996, sold by Lazarus back to John Mitchell and Son, London; April 6, 2006, anonymous (consigned by John Mitchell and Son) sale, Christie’s, New York, lot 52 [see note 5]. 2006, Colnaghi and Bernheimer, London; 2007, sold by Colnaghi and Bernheimer to Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo, Marblehead, MA.
NOTES:
[1] Beschreibung der Churpfalzbaierischen Gemälde-Sammlungen zu München (Munich, 1805), p. 220, cat. no. 924. With the death of Karl Theodor, Elector Palatine of the Rhine and Elector of Bavaria in 1799, the Electorates of both the Palatine and Bavaria passed to Maximilian Joseph, who, as Duke of Zweibrücken (since 1795) was the most senior prince. He became Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria, in 1806.
[2] In 1836, Ludwig I, King of Bavaria (r. 1825 - 1848) opened the Pinakothek in Munich to exhibit the royal painting collection. It was renamed the Alte Pinakothek with the opening of the Neue Pinakothek across the street in 1853. This painting is traceable in Alte Pinakothek catalogues of 1838-1839, 1845, 1866 (inv. no. 270), 1871 (inv. no. 862), 1884-1888, and 1908 (inv. no. 656). By 1906, it had been moved to the Galerie Erlangen (inv. no. 74). In the catalogues of the 1880s, the painting is said to come from Mannheim. For that reason, it has been associated with the collection formed by Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine of the Rhine and Count Palatine of Neuberg (b. 1658 – d. 1716), which was moved to Mannheim in 1730, and has been mistakenly identified in 18th century inventories there. It has only securely been traced to 1805.
[3] In the 1930s, the director of the Bavarian State Paintings Collection, Ernst Buchner, deaccessioned many paintings at the Alte Pinakothek to trade for German works of art. At least seventy-four Dutch paintings were deaccessioned at this time. For further information on the deaccessions, see Jonathan Petropoulos, The Faustian Bargain: The Art World in Nazi Germany (Oxford, 2000), 31-32.
[4] Information about the transactions between George Lazarus and John Mitchell and Son is taken from the online image database of the RKD. George Lazarus lent the painting to “Dutch Pictures, 1450-1750” (Royal Academy of Arts, London, Winter Exhibition 1952-1953), cat. no. 553. It was later lent anonymously to John Mitchell and Son, “The Inspiration of Nature” (exh. cat., London, 1976), p. 42.
[5] Consignor according to Frederik J. Duparc, Golden: Dutch and Flemish Masterworks from the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection (New Haven and London, 2011), p. 265.
Thanks to Robert Schindler for his assistance with this research.
NOTES:
[1] Beschreibung der Churpfalzbaierischen Gemälde-Sammlungen zu München (Munich, 1805), p. 220, cat. no. 924. With the death of Karl Theodor, Elector Palatine of the Rhine and Elector of Bavaria in 1799, the Electorates of both the Palatine and Bavaria passed to Maximilian Joseph, who, as Duke of Zweibrücken (since 1795) was the most senior prince. He became Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria, in 1806.
[2] In 1836, Ludwig I, King of Bavaria (r. 1825 - 1848) opened the Pinakothek in Munich to exhibit the royal painting collection. It was renamed the Alte Pinakothek with the opening of the Neue Pinakothek across the street in 1853. This painting is traceable in Alte Pinakothek catalogues of 1838-1839, 1845, 1866 (inv. no. 270), 1871 (inv. no. 862), 1884-1888, and 1908 (inv. no. 656). By 1906, it had been moved to the Galerie Erlangen (inv. no. 74). In the catalogues of the 1880s, the painting is said to come from Mannheim. For that reason, it has been associated with the collection formed by Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine of the Rhine and Count Palatine of Neuberg (b. 1658 – d. 1716), which was moved to Mannheim in 1730, and has been mistakenly identified in 18th century inventories there. It has only securely been traced to 1805.
[3] In the 1930s, the director of the Bavarian State Paintings Collection, Ernst Buchner, deaccessioned many paintings at the Alte Pinakothek to trade for German works of art. At least seventy-four Dutch paintings were deaccessioned at this time. For further information on the deaccessions, see Jonathan Petropoulos, The Faustian Bargain: The Art World in Nazi Germany (Oxford, 2000), 31-32.
[4] Information about the transactions between George Lazarus and John Mitchell and Son is taken from the online image database of the RKD. George Lazarus lent the painting to “Dutch Pictures, 1450-1750” (Royal Academy of Arts, London, Winter Exhibition 1952-1953), cat. no. 553. It was later lent anonymously to John Mitchell and Son, “The Inspiration of Nature” (exh. cat., London, 1976), p. 42.
[5] Consignor according to Frederik J. Duparc, Golden: Dutch and Flemish Masterworks from the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection (New Haven and London, 2011), p. 265.
Thanks to Robert Schindler for his assistance with this research.