Flowers in a Glass Vase

1704

Rachel Ruysch Dutch, 1664-1750

On View

Dutch Golden Age, Level 3, South Wing

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About the Artwork

Signed and dated 1704, this large flower still life is the crowning achievement of an artist who was one of the most successful of her time. Luscious white and orange lilies, peonies, cabbage roses, and striated tulips compete for attention in a sumptuous display. Glistening dewdrops on the petals suggest that the blossoms are freshly cut. Indeed, their scent continues to attract hovering insects. Despite this meticulous realism, the selected flowers do not bloom at the same time of the year. This colorful arrangement could only have existed in the artist’s imagination. Rachel Ruysch may have inherited her interest in the natural world from her father, Frederik, a renowned scientist and professor of anatomy whose extensive collection of embalmed zoological specimens was purchased by Peter the Great, czar of Russia.

Title Flowers in a Glass Vase

Artwork Date 1704

Artist Rachel Ruysch

Life Dates 1664-1750

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Dutch

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Unframed: 33 × 26 3/8 inches (83.8 × 67 cm) Framed: 42 1/2 × 35 1/2 × 2 3/4 inches (108 × 90.2 × 7 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department European Painting

Credit Founders Society Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, Joseph M. de Grimme Memorial Fund, New Endowment Fund, Henry Ford II Fund, Ralph McElvenny Memorial Fund, Walter and Josephine Ford II Fund, Benson and Edith Ford Fund, Walter B. Ford Memorial Fund, Lenora and Alfred Glancy Foundation Fund, Josephine and Ernest Kanzler Fund, J. Lawrence Buell, Jr. Fund, European Painting General Fund, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Sachs II, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph L. Hudson, Jr. Fund, William H. Murphy Fund, Octavia W. Bates Fund, Director's Discretionary Fund, Popular Subscription Fund and funds from Edgar Martimer, Warren J. Coville, George Strombos, Founders Junior Council, Helmut Stern Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Alan E. Schwartz, Mr. and Mrs. Warren Shelden, Geraldine Schafer, Allan D. Gilmour, Faustyn Tate, Friends of Art and Flowers, Alice Kales Hartwick Foundation, Beverly Prentis Wagner, Women's Committee, Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord Gillis, Jr., Byron and Dorothy Gerson, Mort Harris, Mandel Berman, Marvin and Betty Danto, Lynn and Stanley Day, Margaret H. Demant, Mr. and Mrs. Todd Wyett, J. Michael Losh, Volunteer Committee, Mrs. Lester Morris, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Bianco, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. George Keyes, Bonita and John Fike, Amanda Van Dusen, Museum Shops Volunteer Committee, Ruth Rattner, Dorothy Cartwright, Mr. and Mrs. William S. Fay, anonymous donors, Maryanne Gibson, Helen Gamburd, Wendy Evans, Jerry Earles Florist, Inc., Fifi A. and George J. Kushner, Jr., in memory of Mary Dowd Schmidt; gifts from Mr. and Mrs. James E. Scripps, Ralph Harman Booth, Edward Chandler Walker, Mrs. Laura B. Higbie, Edward F. Fisher, Anna Scripps Whitcomb, Alfred J. Fisher, Mr. and Mrs. George Munroe Endicott, Mr. and Mrs. Sol Eisenberg, Colonel Frank J. Hecker, Peter Monaghan, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence P. Fisher, Mrs. William E. Scripps, William H. Thomson, Mortimer Brandt, Claire MacDonald Church, Lydia Kahn Winston Malbin, Mrs. Russell A. Alger, Gustave Volterra, Mr. and Mrs. A.D. Wilkinson, John S. Newberry, Mr. and Mrs. Edgar B. Whitcomb, Mr. and Mrs. James S. Whitcomb, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Field, Estate of Mrs. Alice G. Otis, Mrs. Henry Patten and Marc T. Patten, and City of Detroit, by exchange

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 1995.67

Markings

Signed Signed and dated at bottom right on ledge: Rachel Ruysch 1704

Inscriptions Signed and dated at bottom right on ledge: Rachel Ruysch 1704

Provenance

Presumably acquired by James West [1703–1772] of Alscot House (Preston on Stour, Warwickshire, United Kingdom).
1795, by descent to James West [1775–1838];
1838, by descent to James Roberts West [b. 1812];
by descent to James Alston-Roberts West [1845–1918];
1918, by descent to Harry Charles John Alston-Roberts West [1872–1931];
1931, by descent to Captain William Reginald James Alston-Roberts West [1900–1940];
1940, by descent to James William Alston-Roberts West [b. 1935];
July 6, 1994, sold at (Sotheby's, London) to (Johny van Haeften) (London, United Kingdom);
1995, purchased by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA).

For more information on provenance, please visit:

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Hofstede de Groot, C., Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten hollandischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts, vol. X. Stuttgart, 1928, p. 323, no. 73.

Grant, M. H. Rachel Ruysch 1664–1750. Leigh-on-Sea, 1956, p. 30, no. 56.

The Treasure Houses of Great Britain—Five hundred Years of Private Patronage and Art Collecting. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 1985, pp. 368-369, cat. 298 (ill.).

Old Master Paintings. Sales cat., Sotheby's, London, July 6, 1994, pp. 52–54, no. 30 (ill.).

Inaugural Exhibition of Old Master Paintings. Exh. cat., Otto Naumann, Ltd., New York, 1995, pp. 137–140, no. 31 (ill.).

Buijsen, E. Haagse Schilders in de Gouden Eeuw (Het Hoogsteder Lexicon van all schilders werkzaam in Den Haag 1600-1700). The Hague, 1998, p.343, repr.

Berardi, M. “Florale distinctie en detaillering De receptuur van Rachel Ruysch.” Kunstschrift 44, no. 1 (2000): 4-15.

Keyes, George S. et al. Masters of Dutch Painting: The Detroit Institute of Arts. London, 2004, pp. 212–215, no. 87 (ill.).

Keyes, G.S. "A Brief History of the European Paintings Collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts with a Focus on the Dutch School.” Catalogue for TEFAF Maastricht (2005): 10-15, p. 15 (ill.).

The Temptations of Flora: Jan van Huysum/1682-1749. Exh. cat., Museum Het Prinsenhof. Delft, 2007, pp. 307–308, no. C1 (ill.).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Rachel Ruysch, Flowers in a Glass Vase, 1704, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, Joseph M. de Grimme Memorial Fund, et al.,1995.67.