Merian Pl. 9, Morpho Menelaus

About Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname

Maria Sibylla Merian’s Metamorphosis of the Insects of Surinamecomprised 60 hand-colored engravings (12 additional plates added in posthumous editions) and was the first European attempt to visually document and explore the metamorphosis of insects. Created from the two years she spent observing, collecting, and painting the indigenous plants and insects of Suriname, Merian’s elegantly composed prints portray the metamorphosis of one or more species of insect. The insects are depicted in the various stages of development from larva to mature adult and are presented alongside a plant that often serves as a food source. Merian’s hand-colored engravings possess a remarkable delicacy and attention to detail that make it appear as though the winged insects have only just alighted on the page, but might flutter off at any moment.

The Oppenheimer Kew Gardens Edition of Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium makes available all 72 of Maria Sibylla Merian’s plates as limited-edition fine art prints. Rendered in complete fidelity to the folio belonging to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, our modern prints capture the vibrancy and detail of Merian’s original artwork. Portraying the varying stages of insect metamorphosis, Merian’s prints chart the development of the insect from egg to mature adult. As the first European folio to examine metamorphosis, Merian’s artwork was an invaluable contribution to the development of entomology.

About Maria Sibylla Merian

Born in Frankfurt in 1647 to a family of artisans, Maria Sibylla Merian learned the printmaking trade from a young age. As she matured, Merian developed a great interest in insects, which she collected, studied, and drew. At the age of 52, Merian left her home in Amsterdam and traveled with her daughter Dorothea Maria to the Dutch colony of Surinam on the northeastern coast of South America. There, she spent two years observing the indigenous plants and insects, studying and painting them from life. This endeavor resulted in one of the most significant natural history folios of the 18th century, Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium or Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname, the culmination of her career as an artist and naturalist. Merian is one of the first entomologists to discover and document insect metamorphosis.

About Oppenheimer Editions

Established in 1999, our publishing company Oppenheimer Editions was developed in order to produce modern facsimiles of historic works of art. Marrying cutting-edge digital printing technologies with canonical works of art, Oppenheimer Editions has partnered with prestigious museums to make their holdings accessible to the public as fine art prints. Works from the New-York Historical Society’s unrivaled collections of John James Audubon’s watercolors and the Hudson River School paintings are examples of art that otherwise would be unobtainable.

Among the institutional collections we have partnered with are the American Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum, and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Our Oppenheimer Editions prints are not mere reproductions. Rather, they are limited-edition fine art prints made with the finest quality archival pigments on rag watercolor paper and executed to exacting standards.

For more information about Merian Pl. 9, Morpho Menelaus, email us at [email protected] or check out our articles Examining the Art of Maria Sibylla Merian through the Lens of 17th-century Dutch Still-Life Painting and The Influence of Scientific Modalities of Perception and Representation in Merian’s Artwork.

more information about botanical printsView All Articles

Birds and Animal Art Botanical Art Information

An Obsession with Natural History and Victorian Collecting Crazes

April 17, 2024

Spanning the majority of the 19th century, the Victorian era was marked by a rise in fashionable collecting hobbies. Natural history objects were among the [...]

Read More

Botanical Art Information

How to Distinguish Between the Various Editions of Besler’s ‘Garden of Eichstätt’

July 29, 2023

A practical guide to understanding and identifying the different editions of Besler’s folio through paper types and material characteristics.

Read More

Botanical Art

Plant Mutations in the Botanical Prints of Pierre-Joseph Redouté

June 22, 2023

A consideration of the artistic rendering of the Tulip Breaking Virus, and the phenomenon of Rose Perfoliation in Redouté's prints

Read More

Botanical Art

Encountering the Amazon through Margaret Mee’s Lens

June 21, 2023

A consideration of Mee's implicit and overt depictions of symbiotic ecosystems in her paintings of the Amazon Rainforest

Read More

Botanical Art

The Historical Allure of Variegated Tulips

June 20, 2023

Visualizing expansion, abundance, and prestige through depictions of "broken" tulips in the art of Basilius Besler, Pierre-Joseph Redouté, Dr. Robert Thornton and Robert Furber

Read More

Botanical Art

The Historical Significance of Botanical Illustration

June 16, 2023

A consideration of the motives behind picturing plants including the functional uses and theoretical implications of floral imagery.

Read More