Maria Sibylla Merian 1647 - 1717

Maria Sibylla Merian’s detailed artwork revolutionized the way nature was depicted. Her vivid depictions of butterflies, insects, and plants are not just aesthetically beautiful but scientifically accurate. Her meticulous studies of insects and their food plants in Suriname laid the groundwork for modern entomology, earning her the title of the first scientific artist and one of the earliest ecologists. Holding institution: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.