Her father was also a professor of anatomy and botany.[1] He had a vast collection of animal skeletons, and mineral and botany samples which Rachel used to practice her drawing skills.[3] At a young age she began to paint the flowers and insects of her father's collection in the popular manner of Otto Marseus van Schrieck.[4] Working from these samples Rachel matched her father's ability to depict nature with great accuracy.[5] Later, as Rachel became more accomplished, she taught her father (and also her sister, Anna Ruysch) how to paint.[citation needed]