<![CDATA[Happy birthday #entomologist &amp; scientific illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)!]]>Happy birthday & scientific illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)! Her stepdad Jacob Marrel & students trained her as an artist. She began painting insects & plants by 13. She wrote, “I spent my time investigating insects. [...] I realized that other caterpillars produced beautiful butterflies or moths, and that silkworms did the same. This led me to collect all the caterpillars I could find in order to see how they changed”.⁠
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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/af2285af-ae6b-4ce8-a984-1769bbc921b5/happy-birthday-entomologist-amp-scientific-illustrator-maria-sibylla-merian-1647-1717RSS for NodeMon, 06 Apr 2026 09:23:42 GMTThu, 02 Apr 2026 11:36:10 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday #entomologist &amp; scientific illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)! on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 13:07:22 GMT]]>@minouette There is an exhibit featuring her work (and others) at the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin, until around June! I was in awe the whole time.

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Nature and German History. Faith – Biology – Power - Deutsches Historisches Museum

Exhibition “Nature and German History. Faith – Biology – Power” in the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin (14. November 2025 - 7. June 2026)

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Deutsches Historisches Museum (DHM) (www.dhm.de)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://flipping.rocks/users/ater/statuses/116335263261315653https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://flipping.rocks/users/ater/statuses/116335263261315653Thu, 02 Apr 2026 13:07:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday #entomologist &amp; scientific illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)! on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:57:06 GMT]]>@minouette Thank you for taking the time to publish this. It is truly fascinating what some people were able to achieve in their lifetimes. I also think the print is cool. Is it a lino block?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.vivaldi.net/ap/users/116256575994654827/statuses/116335222854176050https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.vivaldi.net/ap/users/116256575994654827/statuses/116335222854176050Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:57:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday #entomologist &amp; scientific illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)! on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:41:20 GMT]]>She sold her collected specimen & in 1705 published Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium. ⁠
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She had a stroke in 1715 & died a pauper in 1717. Her daughter Dorothea published her Erucarum Ortus Alimentum et Paradoxa Metamorphosis, posthumously. Both Dorothea & Johanna followed their mother’s lead & became botanical illustrators.⁠
🧵5/5

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://spore.social/users/minouette/statuses/116334924946687181https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://spore.social/users/minouette/statuses/116334924946687181Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:41:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday #entomologist &amp; scientific illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)! on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:41:07 GMT]]>She planned a 5 year mission to study insects, making her perhaps the 1st person to plan a proper scientific expedition!⁠

⁠ She travelled throughout the colony sketching insects & plants. She criticized the Dutch planters’ treatment of Indigenous & enslaved Black people (though she relied upon enslaved amerindians & brought an amerindian woman named Indianin back to Holland). Malaria likely cut her expedition short & forced her return to Holland in 1701. 🧵4/5

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://spore.social/users/minouette/statuses/116334924076143869https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://spore.social/users/minouette/statuses/116334924076143869Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:41:07 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday #entomologist &amp; scientific illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)! on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:40:04 GMT]]>She moved to be with her mother after her stepdad’s death, then to join her half-brother at a Labadist religious community. After her mother’s death, she moved to Amsterdam in 1691 & divorced her husband in 1692.⁠
⁠ She became curious whether lifecycles of insects collected in Suriname mirrored those of Europe species. She was able to secure Amsterdam’s permission & travel grant to go to Suriname, with her younger daughter Dorothea Maria. 🧵3/

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://spore.social/users/minouette/statuses/116334920007414339https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://spore.social/users/minouette/statuses/116334920007414339Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:40:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday #entomologist &amp; scientific illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)! on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:37:30 GMT]]>She married her stepdad’s apprentice Johann Andreas Graff; they had a daughter & moved to Nurenburg. She contributed income by painting, creating embroidery designs, & teaching drawing lessons to wealthy girls, which allowed her access to fine gardens where she continued collecting & documenting. She published her 1st book of nature illustrations, titled Neues Blumenbuch, in 1675. In 1679, she published her insect research in a 3-vol, illustrated book focusing on . 🧵2/

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://spore.social/users/minouette/statuses/116334909898477438https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://spore.social/users/minouette/statuses/116334909898477438Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:37:30 GMT