Maria Sibylla Merian

Artist

• Born: April 2, 1647
• Birthplace: Frankfurt, Germany
• Died: January 13, 1717
• Place of death: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Significance: Maria Sibylla Merian was a naturalist and illustrator whose depictions of various plant and animal life provided the scientific community with their most accurate images of the natural world at that time. Merian spent her life observing nature and traveling to exotic lands in search of more specimens to sketch. She published several books that featured her detailed illustrations. Merian's work educated people across Europe about the diverse ecology of the world and influenced a number of important naturalists.

Background

Maria Sibylla Merian was born on April 2, 1647, in Frankfurt, Germany. Her father was the famous Swiss engraver and publisher Matthäus Merian. He died when Merian was three years old. Her mother then married still-life painter Jacob Marrel. Merian began drawing and painting at a young age, and her stepfather encouraged her interest. Her early paintings focused on flowers and others plant life. She later became fascinated with caterpillars and their transformation into moths and butterflies.

Merian married Johann Andreas Graff at the age of sixteen. In 1670, the pair moved to Nuremberg, where Merian continued to paint flowers and insects. She also taught painting to local women. Merian had a gift for capturing the details of plant and animal life with great accuracy. She often caught insect specimens so she could observe their activities and transformations up close.

In 1675, she published her first volume of flower drawings titled Neues Blumenbuch (New Book of Flowers). She published two more volumes over the next two years. She then published her first collection of insect illustrations, titled Der Raupen wunderbarer Verwandlung (The Wondrous Transformation of Caterpillars). The work contained images of the life cycle of the butterfly, capturing each stage of the metamorphosis in remarkable detail. Merian's images were the first to depict a number of insects and the plants that sustained them. Her observations proved the theory that insects were born from eggs and did not come into being through spontaneous generation—a long-held belief within the scientific community at the time.

Life's Work

After years of enduring an unhappy marriage, Merian left her husband in 1685. She, her mother, and her children moved into a religious commune in Friesland run by a group that called themselves Labadists after former Jesuit priest Jean de Labadie. Merian had always been a deeply religious woman, and the commune was committed to devout Christianity. She continued to paint during her time within the commune, often selling her work to support her family. Following the death of her mother in 1690, Merian left the commune and moved to Amsterdam.

Merian found an eager clientele in Amsterdam, a progressive city that allowed women to own businesses and earn money. Collectors purchased her drawings and often permitted her to examine their own exotic insect collections. She was eager to view such specimens in person. In 1699, Merian used the money she had earned selling her work to travel to the Dutch colony of Suriname in South America, where she studied exotic plants and wildlife. She collected many specimens during her trip to take back to Europe. Merian's adventures had few limits. She explored the region's sugar plantations, trekked through the rainforest, and interviewed indigenous South Americans. All the while, she sketched dozens of flowers, insects, and animals. She was forced to return to Amsterdam in 1701 after contracting malaria. Upon her return, she sold the specimens she had collected to generate income. She also began compiling sketches for her next publication.

Merian's next work focused entirely on the life she encountered in South America. Over the next few years, she produced sixty copper engravings depicting Suriname wildlife. The engravings also contained illustrations of the plant life that sheltered and sustained various insects. Merian included images of exotically colored butterflies and caterpillars of the rainforests, moths releasing their tubular mouthparts for feeding, and ants ascending tree branches. She was sensitive to the imperfections of nature and never omitted features like leaf holes or withering petals in her sketches. Merian wanted to portray what she saw with complete authenticity. Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium (Transformation of Surinamian Insects) was published in the Dutch and Latin languages in 1705. The book was the first natural history text in Suriname history.

Merian suffered a stroke in 1715 that partially paralyzed her. The stroke was a critical blow to her career, as she was unable to produce sketches to sell for income. Two years later, she died in Amsterdam. At her funeral, an agent working for Russia's Peter the Great purchased the remaining pieces of Merian's artwork. At the time of her death, many of her books could be found on the shelves of libraries across Europe.

Impact

Merian's in-depth research and great attention to detail made her work highly popular among naturalists. Many used her illustrations for their own publications. Her work even earned the praise of the literary community, with German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe complimenting Merian's merging of science and art. Many natural historians regarded Merian as a great influence to future generations of naturalists, including Mark Catesby, William Bartram, and John James Audubon.

Personal Life

Merian and Graff had two daughters. Johanna Helena was born in 1668. Dorothea Maria was born in 1678.

Principal Works: Publications

• Neues Blumenbuch: Volume 1, 1675
• Neues Blumenbuch: Volume 2, 1677
• Neues Blumenbuch: Volume 3, 1677
• Der Raupen wunderbarer Verwandlung, 1679
• Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, 1705

Bibliography

Klein, JoAnna. "A Pioneering Woman of Science Re‑Emerges after 300 Years." The New York Times, 23 Jan. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/01/23/science/maria-sibylla-merian-metamorphosis-insectorum-surinamensium.html. Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.

"Maria Sibylla Merian." Maria Sibylla Merian Collection Official Web Site, 29 June 2009, www.sibyllamerian.com/biography.html. Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.

"Maria Sibylla Merian." National Museum of Women in the Arts, www.nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/maria-sibylla-merian. Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.

"Maria Sibylla Merian: Artist Whose Passion for Insects Changed Science." The Guardian, 2 Apr. 2013, www.theguardian.com/science/grrlscientist/2013/apr/02/maria-sibylla-merian-artist-insects-science. Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.

Wulf, Andrea. "The Woman Who Made Science Beautiful." The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/01/the-woman-who-made-science-beautiful/424620/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.