Amsterdam, 1679. Every time Rachel is absorbed by the hustle and bustle at the Dam – the smell of salt, the shouts of the sailors, the foreign languages – it is as if the gate to another world opens. Only one thing gives her even more joy: lessons with the renowned flower painter Willem van Aelst, who, however, can soon teach the exceptionally gifted young woman nothing more.
When Rachel falls in love with the portrait painter Juriaen Pool, her life takes a new turn. Not only does she not put down her brush even in her role as a mother of ten, she is even appointed court painter by Elector Johann Wilhelm in Düsseldorf. And she meets the maid Emma, whose search for her origins soon pulls Rachel into a maelstrom of dark power struggles.
- The gripping and fascinating biographical novel of a strong woman and painter who was more successful than Rembrandt in her lifetime
- An artist of international standing: Rachel Ruysch’s still lifes can be admired in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, the Uffizi in Florence, the National Gallery in London, as well as in Australia and the USA
- For everyone who wants to experience the Golden Age in Amsterdam at the end of the 17th century through the eyes of a woman who was far ahead of her time