Maria Sibylla Merian war eine Naturforscherin und Künstlerin. Sie gehört zur jüngeren Frankfurter Linie der Basler Familie Merian und wuchs in Frankfurt am Main auf.
Bis 1670 lebte sie in Frankfurt am Main, danach in Nürnberg, Amsterdam und Westfriesland. Durch den Gouverneur der niederländischen Kolonie Surinam, Cornelis van Sommelsdijk, wurde sie angeregt, ab 1699 eine zweijährige Reise in diesen südamerikanischen Küstenstaat zu unternehmen. Nach Europa zurückgekehrt, publizierte Maria Sibylla Merian ihr Hauptwerk Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, das sie berühmt machte.
Wegen ihrer genauen Beobachtungen und Darstellungen zur Metamorphose der Schmetterlinge gilt sie als wichtige Wegbereiterin der modernen Insektenkunde (Entomologie).[1]
Biography (English Highlights)
born into a family of artists & publishers
tutored by step-father, the noted artist Jacob Marrel, or his pupils[2]
May 1665 m. Johann Andreas Graff, a student of her step-father[2][3]
studied and painted the life cycle of silkworms - studied them alive and throughout their transformation (unlike other artists of her time)
"Merian was the first science illustrator to record the relationships between insects and the plants they lived on, which is critical for understanding food chains."[4]
Published volumes on insects with incredible detail both in the pictures and in decription, received well
Proved that insects hatched from eggs
Her journals during her time in Suriname are some of the earliest accounts of the ecology and society there[4]
1705 "Insects of Suriname"
Her illustrations are still used by scientists studying & classifying insects today
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I'm enjoying a 2018 illustrated biography of Maria Merian by Joyce Sidman. It's titled "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies" and contains well-documented quotes from Maria and an excellent bibliography. Thank you, Samuel, for this fine profile.
I have added the German Roots sticker to her profile, I hope you do not mind. :)
Kylie Project Coordinator, German Roots