Books about the life and work of Maria Sibylla Merian

# Maria Sibylla Merian – Artist, Scientist, Adventurer / Sarah B. Pomeroy & Jeyaraney Kathirithamby / 2018

In 1660, at the age of thirteen, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) began her study of butterfly metamorphosis-years before any other scientist published an accurate description of the process. Later, Merian and her daughter ventured thousands of miles from their home in the Netherlands to the rainforests of South America seeking new and amazing insects to observe and illustrate. Years after her death, Merian's accurate and beautiful illustrations were used by scientists, including Carl Linnaeus, to classify species, and today her prints and paintings are prized by museums around the world. More than a dozen species of plants and animals are named after Merian. The first Merian biography written for ages 10 and up, this book will enchant budding scientists and artists alike. Readers will be inspired by Merian's talent, curiosity, and grit and will be swept up in the story of her life, which was adventurous even by today's standards. With its lively text, quotations from Merian's own study book, and fascinating sidebars on history, art, and science, this volume is an ideal STEAM title for readers of all ages and interests.



# Maria Sibylla Merian. Changing the Nature of Art and Science / Bert van de Roemer & Florence Pieters / 2022

Merian inspired generations of scientists, artists and enthusiasts

Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), a German-born woman later living in the Netherlands, is famous for her groundbreaking work on caterpillars, moths and butterflies. Her extraordinary story and her contributions to art and science have fascinated many scholars and nature and art lovers, and have inspired artists and writers alike. In 2017 an international conference in Amsterdam celebrated the conjunction of new scholarship and artistic works related to this pioneering naturalist and artist. This book is the result of this cross-pollination.

Maria Sibylla Merian. Changing the Nature of Art and Science provides new insights into Merian's life and work, re-examines the existing canon, and explores her influence on the contemporary arts. The contributing authors variously investigate her network, her processes and products, and her impact on art and natural history. Her work is compared to that of artists and scientists who preceded and followed her, as well as to that of contemporaries, both male and female.
Altogether, this richly illustrated volume presents the most recent knowledge about one of the most remarkable women of the early modern period. The book is edited by Bert van de Roemer, Florence Pieters, Hans Mulder, Kay Etheridge and Marieke van Delft, all members of the Maria Sibylla Merian Society.

# Maria Sibylla (roman) / Inez van Dullemen/ 2019

Maria Sibylla is een roman over de schilderes Maria Sibylla Merian, die op het eind van de zeventiende eeuw naar Suriname vertrekt vanwege haar bijzondere passie voor vlinders. Van haar leven zijn slechts een aantal feiten bekend. Waar Inez van Dullemen zich moet beroepen op haar verbeelding kruipt ze overtuigend in de huid van deze vrijgevochten vrouw die met opmerkelijke moed haar man verlaat, en een aantal jaren daarna met haar jongste dochter naar Suriname reist. Ze neemt de lezer mee op een adembenemende tocht door een land waar slavernij hoogtij viert. Maria Sibylla ontmoet de slavin Kwasiba op het moment dat deze haar zoontje begraaft. Vanaf dan zijn de levens van beide vrouwen onontkoombaar verbonden.

# Maria Sibylla Merian's Metamorphosis: One Woman's Discovery of the Transformation of Butterflies and Insects / 2024  

Discover the trailblazing work of artist naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian in this beautifully illustrated volume on the life cycle of butterflies and moths.

Maria Sibylla Merian is one of the greatest entomologists of the seventeenth century. Her work documenting the life cycle and transformation of insects yielded a wealth of groundbreaking discoveries, captured vividly in beautiful illustrations.

Originally published in 1705, Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensis documents Merian's research expedition to Suriname in 1699. Over the period of two years, the German naturalist observed many South American butterflies and moths, meticulously recording her findings in a series of 60 stunning full-plate illustrations. Her groundbreaking entomological observations, coupled with her unique artworks, emphasise her invaluable role as a pioneering woman in science.

Merian's work transcends the boundaries between art and science, embodying the brilliant intersection where the two disciplines collide. This facsimile edition from Art Meets Science is a testament to her enduring legacy, showcasing the brilliant outcome of her discoveries whilst celebrating her work as a mainstay of the arts and sciences.

# Maria Sibylla Merian: Künstlerin - Forscherin - Geschäftsfrau. Eine Biographie/ Barbara Beuys/ 2016

Barbara Beuys erzählt spannend und kenntnisreich das ungewöhnliche Leben einer Frau im 17. Jahrhundert, die selbstbewusst als Künstlerin Pionierarbeit in den Naturwissenschaften leistete. Ihre Leidenschaft für Raupen und deren Verwandlung in Schmetterlinge führte sie 1699 bis in den tropischen Urwald von Südamerika.
Mit ihrem Buch Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandlung gehört Maria Sibylla Merian zu den Begründern der modernen Insektenkunde. Fünf Jahre lebte sie in einer radikalen christlichen Kommune in Holland, trennte sich von ihrem Mann und zog mit ihren Töchtern nach Amsterdam. Dort entstanden im Merian-Studio mit ihren zwei Töchtern Zeichnungen von Blumen, Insekten und Früchten, die bei Sammlern in ganz Europa begehrt waren. Die Reise der Zweiundfünfzigjährigen in die niederländische Kolonie Surinam in Südamerika zur Erforschung der tropischen Inselwelt ist ohne Vorbild. Ihr Buch über die Surinamesischen Insekten machte sie endgültig berühmt.

# Die Falterfrau. Maria Sibylla Merian. Großdruck: Biographischer Roman

Utta Keppler / 2005

Naturforscherin, Künstlerin und Verlegerin - das Leben einer außergewöhnlichen Frau zwischen 17. und 18. Jahrhundert. Sie war Naturforscherin, Künstlerin und Verlegerin: Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717), Tochter des berühmten Kupferstechers Matthäus Merian. Schon in Jugendjahren regte sich in ihr der Forschungsdrang, der sie zeitlebens fesseln sollte und dem sie nachging, ohne jemals eine akademische Ausbildung genossen zu haben. Ihre Leidenschaft galt den Schmetterlingen. Und so brach sie mit 52 Jahren – nach dem Scheitern ihrer Ehe mit einem Maler – 1699 zu einer Reise nach Südamerika auf, um ihre geliebten »Sommervögel« zu studieren. Ihr 1705 erschienenes Buch über die Insektenwelt Surinams begründete ihren Ruhm als Wissenschaftlerin. 

# Maria Sibylla Merian and Daughters, women of art and science / Ella Reitsma /2008

This gorgeously illustrated book presents the life and work of Maria Sibylla Merian, who defied the conventions of her time to pursue her passion for documenting the natural world in all its glorious, and sometimes ferocious, detail.

After more than fifteen years of marriage to a fellow artist and the birth of two daughters, Merian left her husband. She began to support herself by selling watercolors of insects, fruit, and flowers, eventually establishing an art business in Amsterdam with her daughters, Johanna Helen and Dorothea Maria. Merian's innovative compositional style--displaying the life cycle of an insect against the background of its host plant--developed out of her own careful and painstakingly recorded observations of insect metamorphoses.

Ella Rietsma is the first author to attempt to separate Merian's work from that of her two daughters, who collaborated extensively with their mother. Writing in a lively, accessible style, Reitsma includes newly discovered drawings and fresh biographical details.