has everyone seen the google doodle for today--honouring naturalist illustrator maria sibylla merian
Maria Sibylla Merian
Born 2 April 1647
Frankfurt, Holy Roman Empire
Died 13 January 1717 (aged 69)
Amsterdam, Dutch Republic
Occupation Naturalist, scientific illustrator, entomologist
Known for Documentation of butterfly metamorphosis, scientific illustration
Maria Sibylla Merian (2 April 1647 – 13 January 1717) was a German-born Swiss naturalist and scientific illustrator, a descendent of the Frankfurt branch of the Merian family, founders of one of Europe's largest publishing houses in the 17th century.
Merian received her artistic training from her stepfather, Jacob Marrel, a student of the still life painter Georg Flegel. She remained in Frankfurt until 1670, relocating subsequently to Nuremberg, Amsterdam and West Friesland. Merian published her first book of natural illustrations, titled Neues Blumenbuch, in 1675 at age 28 [1]. In 1699, following eight years of painting and studying, and on the encouragement of Cornelis van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck, the then-governor of the South American Dutch colony of Surinam, Merian was awarded a grant by the city of Amsterdam to travel to Surinam with her daughter Dorothea[2]. After two years there, she was forced return to Europe as result of malaria[1][2]. She then proceeded to publish her major work, Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, in 1705, for which she became famous. Because of her careful observations and documentation of the metamorphosis of the butterfly, she is considered one of the most significant contributors to the field of entomology.[3]
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In 1699 the city of Amsterdam sponsored Merian to travel to Suriname in South America, along with her younger daughter Dorothea Maria. Before departing, she wrote:
In Holland, with much astonishment what beautiful animals came from the East and West Indies. I was blessed with having been able to look at both the expensive collection of Doctor Nicolaas Witsen, mayor of Amsterdam and director of the East Indies society, and that of Mr. Jonas Witsen, secretary of Amsterdam. Moreover I also saw the collections of Mr. Fredericus Ruysch, doctor of medicine and professor of anatomy and botany, Mr. Livinus Vincent, and many other people. In these collections I had found innumerable other insects, but finally if here their origin and their reproduction is unknown, it begs the question as to how they transform, starting from caterpillars and chrysalises and so on. All this has, at the same time, led me to undertake a long dreamed of journey to Suriname.[4]
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In the last years of the 20th century, the work of Merian was rediscovered and recognised. For example, her portrait was printed on the 500 DM note before Germany converted to the euro. Her portrait has also appeared on a 0.40 DM stamp, released on September 17, 1987, and many schools are named after her. In 2005, a modern research vessel named Maria S. Merian was launched at Warnemünde, Germany. She was honored with a Google Doodle on 2 April 2013 to mark her 366th birth anniversary.[6]
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Merian worked as a botanical artist. She published collections of engravings of plants in 1675, 1677, and 1680. She collected and observed live insects and created detailed drawings to illustrate insect metamorphosis. In her time, it was very unusual that someone would be genuinely interested in insects, which had a bad reputation and were colloquially called "beasts of the devil." As a consequence of their reputation, the metamorphosis of these animals was largely unknown. Merian described the life cycles of 186 insect species, amassing evidence that contradicted the contemporary notion that insects were "born of mud" by
spontaneous generation. Moreover, although certain scholars were aware of the process of metamorphosis from the caterpillar to the butterfly, the majority of people did not understand the process.
The work that Anna Maria Sibylla Merian published, Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandlung und sonderbare Blumennahrung – The Caterpillars' Marvelous Transformation and Strange Floral Food, was very popular in certain sections of high society as a result of being published in the vernacular. However, it is notable that her work was largely ignored by scientists of the time because the official language of science was still Latin.
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Merian was one of the first naturalists to observe insects directly. This approach gave her much more insight into their lives and was contrary to the way that most scientists worked at the time.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sibylla_Merian
Google's Doodle for Maria Sibylla Merian: What makes her special?
By Jamie Wetherbe
April 2, 2013, 1:16 p.m.
Google on Tuesday is noting the 366th anniversary of Maria Sibylla Merian's birth with the gift of the Google Doodle.
So what makes Merian special? Her work was a marriage of art and science in a time of few female scientists and little documentation of pupal insects.
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Once denounced as a too-independent woman, Merian as since been recognized as one of the most talented scientific illustrators of her day and beyond.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-maria-sibylla-merian-google-doodle-20130402,0,6096471.story
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