Maria Sibylla Merian was the daughter, sister, and wife of artists
and engravers. She lived a most unconventional life: she became an artist
herself, left her husband to join a Protestant sect, and voyaged at the
age of 50 to the Dutch colony of Surinam in South America. Merian, who
worked professionally under her own name, spent two years in the rain
forest observing, collecting, and drawing insects and plants. Despite a
few errors, her Metamorphosis, published after her return, is a
masterpiece of both art and science. In a vivid, pleasingly ornate
artistic style, she was the first to record the full life cycle of many
species of butterflies and moths.—Elizabeth Periale
Maria Sibylla Merian
Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung und sonderbare Blumennahrung, 1730.
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