Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) learned to paint from her stepfather, the still life artist Jacob Marrel. She was interested in flowers and insects from an early age, and published books of her paintings, showing insects in different stages of their development, with the plants that attracted them. When living in Amsterdam she saw a collection of South American natural history specimens, and was so much interested that she traveled to Surinam with one of her daughters to study the native flowers and insects on the spot. After two years she returned and published her major work Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensis, in 1705. In the book, the insects are not usually identified with as much detail as the plants. The book exhibited is a reprint of her works on European and Surinamese flowers and insects, edited and enlarged by P.J. Buc¹hoz.
Maria Sibylla Merian.
Histoire générale des insectes de Surinam et de toute l¹Europe.
Paris: Desnos, 1771.
(double page spread: 21x25 inches)
The George Peabody Library
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The illustration, showing Maria Sibylla Merian searching for insect specimens in Surinam, is surrounded by an architectural border with allegorical figures in front. Volume 1, Surinam. Frontispiece. |
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Pineapple. Volume 1, Surinam. Plate II. |
 Wallflower - Ranunculus. Volume 2, Europe. Plates XII-XV. |
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 Dandelion - Cherry blossom. Volume 2, Europe. Plates VIII-XI. |
 Zurfak - Volume 1, Surinam. Plate XIV. |
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 Plum tree. Volume 1, Surinam. Plate XIV. |
 Violet - Nasturtium. Volume 2, Europe. Plates LI-LIII. |
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Additional Information on Merian from the National Museum of Women in the Arts:
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Last updated: 5/5/00 by knox@jhu.edu |
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