Flowers in a glass vase, with insects and peaches, on a marble tabletop

One of three Rachel Ruysch works at the Fitzwilliam Museum, this 1701 canvas — flowers in a glass vase with insects and peaches on a marble tabletop — is a comprehensive demonstration of her scientific naturalism and technical range within a single composition. The combination of glass vase, observed insects, stone fruit, and marble support gave Ruysch the opportunity to display mastery of four distinct surface types in a single pictorial statement. By 1701 she was at the height of her mature powers and would within a few years receive the court appointment from Johann Wilhelm von der Pfalz that confirmed her European standing. The Fitzwilliam's three Ruysch works span different phases of her career and allow the museum to present her development from the 1693 marble-slab spray to this more elaborate 1701 composition and beyond.

The four-surface challenge of this composition — glass, insect chitin, peach velvet, marble — required Ruysch to modulate her technique across the canvas. Glass uses the transparent layering described above; insects require fine pointed brushwork over careful mid-tones; peaches use a warm base with impasto highlights and soft edge-blending for the velvet nap; marble uses cool dragged washes for veining.