Antique Maria Merian Butterflies Plate #25, P. Huyter Sculp, Engraver

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Beautifully matted and framed, this antique print of Maria Sibylla Merian"s Meprilus Americana., engraved by master engraver P. Huyter Sculp. … Read more Beautifully matted and framed, this antique print of Maria Sibylla Merian"s Meprilus Americana., engraved by master engraver P. Huyter Sculp. This is hand colored, Etching Number PV 25

Maria Sibylla Merian’s Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname comprised 60 hand-colored engravings (12 additional plates added in posthumous editions) and was the first European attempt to visually document and explore the metamorphosis of insects. Created from the two years she spent observing, collecting, and painting the indigenous plants and insects of Suriname, Merian’s elegantly composed prints portray the metamorphosis of one or more species of insect. The insects are depicted in the various stages of development from larva to mature adult and are presented alongside a plant that often serves as a food source. Merian’s hand-colored engravings possess a remarkable delicacy and attention to detail that make it appear as though the winged insects have only just alighted on the page, but might flutter off at any moment.

Born in Frankfurt in 1647 to a family of artisans, Maria Sibylla Merian learned the printmaking trade from a young age. As she matured, Merian developed a great interest in insects, which she collected, studied, and drew. At the age of 52, Merian left her home in Amsterdam and traveled with her daughter Dorothea Maria to the Dutch colony of Surinam on the northeastern coast of South America. There, she spent two years observing the indigenous plants and insects, studying and painting them from life. This endeavor resulted in one of the most significant natural history folios of the 18th century, Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium or Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname, the culmination of her career as an artist and naturalist. Merian is one of the first entomologists to discover and document insect metamorphosis. See less