ecutes some smaller pieces which are
marvels of patience in their exquisite detail.

Perhaps her panels of the "Four Seasons" may be called her
_chef-d'oeuvre_. The writer quoted above also says:

"To Mme. de Rudder must be given the credit for the interpretation of
work demanding large and varied decorative effect, while in the creation
of true artistic composition she easily stands at the head of the limited
coterie of men and women who have mastered this delicate and difficult
art. She is a leader in her peculiar craft."

<b>RUDE, MME. SOPHIE FREMIET.</b> 1797-1867. Medal at Paris Salon, 1833.
Born in Dijon. This artist painted historical and genre subjects as well
as portraits. Her picture of the "Sleeping Virgin," 1831, and that of
the "Arrest of the Duchess of Burgundy in Bruges," 1841, are in the
Dijon Museum.

<b>RUYSCH, RACHEL.</b> The perfection of flower-painting is seen in the
works of Rachel Ruysch. The daughter of a distinguished professor of
anatomy, she was born at Amsterdam in 1664. She was for a time a pupil of
William van Aelst, but soon studied from nature alone. Some art critics
esteem her works superior to those of De Heem and Van Huysum. Let that be
as it may, the pictures with which she was no doubt dissatisfied when
they passed from her hand more than two centuries ago are greatly valued
to-day and her genius is undisputed.

When thirty years old Rachel Ruysch married the portrait painter, Julian
van Pool. She bore him ten children, but in the midst of all her cares
she never laid her brush aside. Her reputation extended to every court of
Europe. She received many honors, and was elected to the Academical
Society at The Hague. She was received with distinguished courtesies on
the two occasions when she visited Duesseldorf.

[Illustration: Alinari, Photo.

In the Pitti Gallery, Florence

FRUIT, FLOWERS, AND INSECTS

RACHEL RUYSCH]

The Elector John of Pfalz appointed her painter at his court, and beyond
paying her generously for her pictures, bestowed valuable gifts on her.
The Elector sent several of her works to the Grand Duke of Tuscany and to
other distinguished rulers of that day.

The advance of years in no wise dulled her powers. Her pictures painted
when eighty years old are as delicately finished as those of many years
earlier. She died when eighty-six, "respected by the great, beloved even
by her rivals, praised by all who knew her."

The pictures by Rachel Ruysch