Giclees > Maria Sybella Merian Butterflies

Maaria Sibylla Merian (German 1647-1717).  She was a German entomologist and illustrator.  In 1699 she left her husband in Amsterdam (unheard of at the time) and took her six year old daughter to Dutch Guiana to study and record the tropical insects of the region.  In 1705 she published " Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium".  Her work exposed the thought that insects were "born of Mud" by spontaneous generation.  Her research and descriptions showed the various stages of development from egg to larva to pupa and finally to adult of insects.

These images were first published as hand coloured copperplate engravings.  Our images are giclees printed on rag paper and archival inks to the highest definition of printing available today.