CODART, Dutch and Flemish art in museums worldwide

Das Stillleben und die Entdeckung der Welt

Exhibition: 2 October 2015 - 17 January 2016

It was like a miracle in the early eighteenth century: Rachel Ruysch painted baroque still-lifes of breathtaking beauty. The artists of the famous painters’ guild in The Hague were the first to accept women among its members. In 1724, the Rostock merchant Jacob Wehner donated one of the extremely valuable paintings by Rachel Ruysch to the city.

Only 100 paintings signed by Rachel Ruysch have survived and are exhibited in museums in New York, Melbourne, Florence, Brussels and Amsterdam. The Flower Still Life with Insects is the focus of the exhibition in the Kulturhistorisches Museum Rokstock. Still-lifes from the collection from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century by Melchior de Hondecoeter, Johann Baptist Drechsler or Maximilian Pfeiler present the recurring passion: the discovery of the world.

In collaboration with the University of Rostock, the museum identief the flora and fauna depicted in the paintings. Zoological and botanical specimens allow visitors to the exhibition to experience the fascination of discovering their own and the exotic world.