A Woman to Know: Maria Sybilla Merian
Art and nature shall always be wrestling until they conquer one another so that the victory is the same stroke and line. — Maria
In 1699, Maria Sibylla Merian was a 28-year-old divorcee, traveling by ship to uncharted Suriname. Maria was already an accomplished scientific illustrator, and the Dutch governor had paid her to document the fledgling colony's botanical landscape in her signature detailed engravings. Maria's "Metamorphosis" pieces are the first scientific (and artistic!) visual record of insect life cycle — from pale chrysalis to full-winged butterfly and moth.
In the 21st century, her plates are honored in natural science museums and art museums alike — they're also super popular tattoo options for today's ladies of entomology.
(images from Wikimedia Commons)
Add to your reading list:
A Butterfly Journey: Maria Sibylla Merian (Boris Freidewald)
Merian's Exquisite Specimens (Taschen)
Read more:
The Woman Who Made Science Beautiful (The Atlantic)
Maria Sibylla Merian: the artist whose passion for insects changed science (The Guardian)
Why her art changed how we see nature (The Christian Science Monitor)
How a 17th century woman laid the foundations of modern entomology (Brain Pickings)
A 17th century woman artist's butterfly journey (Hyperallergenic)
See more:
Exhibitions: Merian Prints (Getty Images)
Artist Profiles: Maria Sibylla Merian (National Museum of Women in the Arts)
Watch more:
Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname, by Maria Sibylla Merian (The Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery)
Thank you to Jaclyn Skurie for recommending Maria as a woman to know! <3
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