Lesson6 (Insects and Flowers: The Life of Maria Sibylla Merian)

[nanu]

L6 Insects and Flowers.hwp

Insects and Flowers :The Life of Maria Sibylla Merian

Maria Sibylla Merian was a scientist and painter in 17th century Germany. As a scientist, she made a great

contribution to the development of botany and zoology, and on top of that, she was an artist and a female,

which was unusual for the time. Let’s learn about how this legendary female artist and scientist spent her life

making discoveries about the mysteries of nature.

Her Childhood
    Maria Sibylla Merian was born in Frankfurt on April 2, 1647. When she was three years old, her father died,

and after that, her mother married a famous German flower painter, Jacob Marrell. Young Merian spent hours

playing with insects in the backyard of her stepfather’s art studio, and this was her favorite period of her life.

Her artistic sense naturally grew, as she was surrounded by pictures from the art studio and the charm of

natural objects such as colorful butterfly wings. One day, her stepfather realized that she had artistic talents,

so he let her take drawing lessons. It was very rare in those days that a woman was trained as an artist.

    At the age of 13, Merian, for the first time in her life, observed a caterpillar becoming a beautiful butterfly.

Fascinated by the mysterious qualities of nature, she painted her first painting of insects and plants. After that,

she collected caterpillars to find out how they changed into butterflies. Later she reflected, "the year of 1660

was the beginning year of my career as a natural scientist."

Becoming a Natural Scientist
     Merian got married to her stepfather’s student, Johann Andreas Graff, when she was 18. She ran an art

 studio where she taught female students and also sold art supplies. She was becoming famous for her

 artistic skill of painting on cloth. In 1675, her first sketchbook, full of detailed illustrations of vividly colored

 flowers with a variety of insects, was published under the title New Book of Flowers.
     She was so eager to study insects that she once brought a dead field mouse into her house and observed

 how long it took maggots to change into flies. In 1679, her second product, The Caterpillar, Marvelous

 Transformation and Strange Floral Food, was published as the fruit of her five years’ hard work. The book is

 considered a wonderful integration of art and science. In this book, Merian introduced the developmental

 stages of different species of butterflies. Her beautiful depiction of the insects was opposite to the common

 belief at the time that insects were linked with decay and dirt. This was, consequently, the birth of a very

 important, ecological viewpoint.

Journey to Surinam
      In 1685, Merian moved to Amsterdam with her two daughters, where she started her second life as an

 artistic scientist. Taking advantage of her increased contact with influential Dutch artists and scientists in the

 city, she had many opportunities to see curious tropical plants and insect specimens taken from Surinam, a

 Dutch colony. She was very excited to be able to study such a variety of valuable insects, and she longed to

 go to Surinam to investigate them in their natural habitat. Her dream finally came true in 1699! As her work

 gained scientists’ attention, she had the chance to travel to Surinam with financial support from the city of

 Amsterdam. At the age of 52, she left for Surinam.
      Taking the risk of getting tropical diseases in the very hot and humid Surinam jungle, Merian worked to

 learn as much as she could about the insects and plants there. She closely observed them and depicted

 their transformations in her drawings. The curious and active Merian was also interested in other objects in

 Surinam. In her rawings, she painted many fruits and vegetables that were new to her, such as cacaos and

 red peppers.

Back to the Netherlands
     Even strong and determined Merian could not overcome malaria. In 1701, being weakened by the disease,

 Merian returned to the Netherlands with insect samples, hundreds of sketches, and memos full of information

 about metamorphosis. Two years later, she published a book, The Metamorphoses of the Insects of Surinam,

 which drew the attention of naturalists and insect collectors of the day. Her books and drawings were

 displayed in museums, libraries and in the living rooms of high-class people. In 1711, she suffered a stroke,

 but she continued her work for six more years until her death. Her passionate life came to an end in

 Amsterdam on January 13, 1717.
     Despite her outstanding contribution to the development of the study of insects in Europe, she was not well

 recognized during her life. Now the world has come to appreciate that Merian’s careful research, integrated

 with her unique artistic skills, made a great contribution to both art and science. In recognition of her work,

 scientists have named 17 species after her. In 1977, to honor her outstanding service in the history of

 science, the U.S. Postal Service featured two of her works on stamps. She was also featured on the German

 Mark in 1992. Now she is finally recognized as a pioneer of art and science.