Maria Sibylla Merian’s ‘The Metamorphoses of the Insects of Surinam’

Grinnell College Museum of Art Collection Highlights

Highlights from the Grinnell College Museum of Art collection, with expert commentary from Associate Director Dan Strong.

Creative & Performing Arts
● Mar 27, 2025 ●

Daniel Strong
Artwork by Merian depicting orange flowers with several types of insects

Maria Sibylla Merian’s The Metamorphoses of the Insects of Surinam, 1705.

By Grinnell College Museum of Art Associate Director Dan Strong

Maria Sibylla Merian

German (1647–1717)

The Metamorphoses of the Insects of Surinam, 1705

Hand-colored engraving

Clinton A. Rehling ’39 Fund for Art Before 1900 (2017.025)

Following a research trip to South America, Maria Sibylla Merian published her Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium in 1705. She was unusual in her time for being more interested in the insects than the plants upon which they fed. In so doing, she influenced the course of science as well as nature illustration.

 

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