Rachel Ruysch,

Rachel Ruysch was the daughter of Frederik Ruysch, a professor of botany. Her artistic talent bloomed very early and she became a renowned painter of floral still lifes. Even though she bore ten children, she nevertheless managed to thrive as a professional artist. Her pictures were admired at courts in The Hague and in Germany, and she was appointed court painter to the Counts Palatine of the Rhine. She painted flowers for over 60 years and became the best known woman painter of the Dutch Golden Age.