Rijksmuseum acquires highlight of Maria Sibylla Merian’s oeuvre
Publication date: 28 August 2024 - 09:33
The Rijksmuseum has acquired a first edition of Maria Sibylla Merian’s Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, her illustrated natural history of Suriname. Published in 1705, it is Merian’s masterpiece and a high point of Dutch book production in the 18th century. German-born artist and naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) had an exceptional eye for the beauty of insects, which she captured in detailed drawings. She was the first person to record the transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly in its natural habitat.
Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium has been acquired with the support of the Friends’Lottery and through the Rijksmuseum Fonds: the Women of the Rijksmuseum Fund, the Estate of S.L.R. Zimmerman-Taylor, the Joost and Carin Scholten Fonds, and M.C.E. Aarts.
This acquisition marks the fulfilment of a long-held wish of the Rijksmuseum. Good copies of the first edition from 1705 rarely appear on the market. Especially given Merian’s own personal history and the colonial context, this book’s artistic quality and innovative scientific approach make for a work whose every aspect connects with the stories we want to tell at the Rijksmuseum.
Alex Alsemgeest, Curator of the Library collections
Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian’s interest in the study of insects began at a young age. She bred caterpillars herself, and made sketches of details such as the pupation phase and the plants on which the butterflies lived. After briefly living in a Labadist Protestant community in Friesland, she settled in Amsterdam. In 1699 she travelled with her youngest daughter Dorothea Graff to Suriname, where she studied insects. On her return to the Netherlands she worked on Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, her iconic work that would be published in 1705.
Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium
Merian published her first edition of Metamorphosis in 1705 in Amsterdam, binding the illustrations along with text in either Latin or Dutch, depending on the buyer’s preference. The book contains 60 hand-coloured plates depicting creatures such as caterpillars, butterflies and spiders in deep, contrasting colours and rich hues. The book also notably contains descriptions of the circumstances in which she collected information, revealing that Merian drew on the knowledge of enslaved people and the original inhabitants of Suriname.
Rijksmuseum Research Library
The Rijksmuseum Research Library holds the largest collection of art-historical works in the Netherlands, with more than half a million books on art and history. Special collections within the library include thousands of art recipe books, practical guides to making art, and printed works covering a wide range of subjects. The Rijksmuseum has held Meriam’s Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung und sonderbare Blumen-nahrung (1679-1683) since 1900. The collection also includes a posthumously published single volume containing De Europische insecten (1730) and Over de voortteeling en wonderbaerlijke veranderingen der Surinaamsche insecten (1730).
Update October 23, 2024: Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium is on display in Room 1.1 of the Rijksmuseum until March 31.
