This notion belies the sensuous density of flowers — their colors, their intricate petals, their scents — and their function, which is, after all, sex. The paintings of Rachel Ruysch (1664–1750), now on view in Artist, Naturalist, and Pioneer at the Museum of Fine Arts, tap into the power of flowers. The artist rarely depicted flowers alone; these bouquets buzz with insects and spiders while hungry amphibians and combative lizards crawl beneath. A typical trait of flower paintings from this time was a then-impossible display of blooms from different seasons, rubbing petals with one another as if time had no meaning. Rejecting the airier, leafier style of Van Aelst’s work, she snuggles her flowers together as intricately as puzzle pieces.