Brief Biography-Rachel Ruysch (Ruisch, or her married name van Pool) was born in Amsterdam. Her father, Fredrick, a renowned professor of anatomy, was able to enter her into the atelier of Willem van Aelst. The works of Jan Davidszoon de Heem may have influenced her also. Her talents were such that her master deemed her a prodigy. After working in The Hague for seven years, she moved to Dusseldorf in 1708, becoming Court Paintress to the Elector Palatine. The Prince was so impressed by her paintings that he bestowed supplementary gifts on her. One such present consisted of a twenty-eight piece of silver furniture for her toilet and six candlesticks of wrought-plate for wax tapers. She was married to the artist Jurian Pool, and they had ten children. Her attention to detail in her work was so remarkable that she spent seven years on two paintings. She continued to paint with explicit detail into her eighties.