Antique Maps by Maria Sibylla Merian (*1647 - †1717)

Maria Sibylla Merian was a natural scientist and artist born in Frankfurt, Germany. She is the daughter of the famous publisher and engraver Matthäus Merian the Elder. She was artistically trained by her stepfather Jacob Marrel, a pupil of the important still life painter Georg Flegel. She lived in Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Amsterdam and West Frisia. At the suggestion of Cornelis van Sommelsdijk she undertook a two-year research trip to the Dutch colony of Surinam from 1699. Back in Europe she published her main work Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium in 1705, which made her famous as an artist.

Maria Sibylla Merian's most important works appeared with the following titles:

- Blumenbuch, 1675-80
- Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandlung und sonderbare Blumennahrung, 1679-83
- Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, 1705