Merian - Metamorphosis

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I hope you enjoy these antique botanical and zoological plates of caterpillars, frogs, toads, lizards, and snakes that have been illustrated on crops, flowers and fruit. Although each antique plate focuses on the metamorphosis of these creatures, the caterpillar [Lepidoptera] is certainly the most prevalent subject of the artists.

Maria Sibylla Merian, the main artist, was born in Frankfurt on the Main. According to her book Metamorphosis insectorum surinamensium, in her youth, she kept herself busy with exploring and painting insects, at first studying silkworms. She spent her life in Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Friesland and Amsterdam. She was the daughter of Matthew [Matthäus] Merian and studied under Abraham Mingon. She painted frequently in water-colors on vellum.

In 1699, she traveled to Surinam[e], South America, with her two daughters, Dorothea and Helena. She returned to Holland two years later and, in 1705, published the plates that are included in this edition. The plates are from the work titled Metamorphosis insectorum surinamensium. The work was published simultaneously in Dutch and Latin. It was subsequently translated into French. Dorothea, her daughter, is said to have contributed greatly to the work and published a new and enlarged edition after her mother’s death. Merian died in Amsterdam in 1717.