Fig: Maria Sibylla Merian 1719

Author: Maria Sibylla Merian Date: 1719 Medium: Hand-colored copperplate engraving Condition: Very Good Plus Inches: 12.75 x 17 [Image] Centimeters: 32.3 x 43 [Image] Product ID: 232414 A pioneering entomologist and the first naturalist to record the process of metamorphosis, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) documented the life cycles of close to 200 insect species over the course of her lifetime. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Merian grew up in an environment that encouraged her creative inclinations; her father Matthäus Merian (1593-1650) owned a Frankfurt publishing house and was himself a respected illustrator. Following his death in 1650, Merian’s mother Johanna married Jacob Marrel (1614-1681), an Utrecht-trained artist known for his floral still life paintings. Merian learned from Marrel as a child, helping her stepfather by collecting insects and natural specimens for him to paint. This childhood fascination with live specimens would persist throughout her career, and M