Maria Sibylla Merian — entomologist and artist
- Creator(s):
- Merian, Maria Sibylla
- Title:
- Erucarum ortus, alimentum et paradoxa metamorphosis: in qua origo, pabulum, transformatio, nec non tempus, locus & proprietates erucarum, vermium, papilionum, phalaenarum, muscarum, aliorumque hujusmodi exsanguium animalculorum exhibentur: in favorem, atque insectorum, herbarum, florum, & plantarum amatorum, tùm etiam pictorum, limbolariorum, aliorumque commodum exactè inquisita, ad vivum delineata, typis excusa, compendiosèque descripta
- Publication/Origin:
- Amsterdam: Joannem Oosterwyk, [1718?]
- Description:
- Keenly observant entomologist and artist Maria Sibylla Merian was the first to study and depict the metamorphosis of insects in the field. She taught girls botanical drawing and sold her specimens, prints, and books to earn a living. Her first work, Der raupen wunderbare verwandlung, was published in Nuremberg between 1679 and 1683. Erucarum ortus is a reworking of Der raupen, translated into Latin by her daughter Dorothea. This copy includes many counterproofs, printed from a wet impression, to create a print in reverse. The collection also includes Merian’s De europische insecten (Amsterdam, 1730).
- Citation:
- Merian, Maria Sibylla, Erucarum ortus, alimentum et paradoxa metamorphosis: in qua origo, pabulum, transformatio, nec non tempus, locus & proprietates erucarum, vermium, papilionum, phalaenarum, muscarum, aliorumque hujusmodi exsanguium animalculorum exhibentur: in favorem, atque insectorum, herbarum, florum, & plantarum amatorum, tùm etiam pictorum, limbolariorum, aliorumque commodum exactè inquisita, ad vivum delineata, typis excusa, compendiosèque descripta, Amsterdam: Joannem Oosterwyk, [1718?], Lisa Unger Baskin Collection, Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. Accessed April 20, 2024, https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/exhibits/show/baskin/item/4023