 |
| One of Merian's butterflies |
Merian went on to record thousands of insects in painting, and her work as a naturalist illustrator has been considered the foundation of modern entomology, a field very dear to me. What's most interesting to me about Maria Sibylla Merian, however, is not just that she made these great contributions, but the circumstances that she made them under.
In the mid to late 1600's when she was illustrating, women were all but completely disregarded in the field of science. Merian's landmark book about the transformation of caterpillars into butterflies was ignored by scientific institutions because it was in German. Regardless of this, she went on a two year excursion to Suriname and discovered and painted enough new species of plant and insect to fill a book.
In a way, I feel like Merian was not only a crucial part of the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution, but also a symbol of it. She strove on in the face of tremendous odds, she broke ground, she paved the way. But most importantly, she was interested in the metamorphosis of one remarkable thing into another, in observing that change and recording it. When it comes down to it, what else was the Enlightenment really about?
Photo Credit
The idea of metamorphosis as the theme of the Enlightenment intrigues me. While religion focuses on metamorphosis of the soul, it seems that until the Renaissance, no one really seemed to care about the metamorphosis of the world around them, at least on a grand scale. Can we live without the idea now? Can you imagine you and your family living in the same small village in the same way for a hundred generations back and a hundred generations forward?
ReplyDeleteI like the example of Merian, because from what you shared, it sounds like she is the epitome of the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution. She follows the precise pattern of what the evolution was all about. I think we would do well to follow her example! Great post.
ReplyDeleteIt's very ironic (or prophetic?) the way that Merian painted caterpillars turning into butterflies, and I like that you pointed that out. It's unfortunate to think that her work was largely disregarded. Sometimes our own work may be ignored, but I wonder how many of us will come to realize our work has grown into something larger further on down the road? Will people be talking about any of our achievements 100 years down the road?
ReplyDelete