Caterpillars and Canvases: The Extraordinary Life of Maria Sibylla Merian

April 2, 1647

On this day, Maria Sibylla Merian was born.

She emerged into this world when Isaac Newton was but a few years her senior. But, while Newton's legacy flourished through centuries, Merian's extraordinary contributions faded into obscurity, only to be rediscovered and celebrated in our more enlightened age.

Dear gardeners, Merian possessed that rare, indefinable quality—the "it factor," as the modern vernacular would have it. In 2011, her allure proved so irresistible that Janet Dailey, a retired teacher and artist from Springfield, Illinois, launched a Kickstarter campaign to trace Merian's footsteps to Surinam. In this South American paradise, Merian created her most magnificent works. By 2013, her birthday warranted commemoration with that most contemporary honor—a "Google Doodle."

How Merian would have delighted in our present-day crusade to cultivate milkweed for our beloved Monarchs! The intricate dance between insect and plant was central to her understanding of the natural world. In her meticulous observations, she carefully documented which caterpillars were specialists—those discriminating creatures who feast exclusively upon a single type of plant.

Perhaps you recognize this behavior in your own garden or, indeed, in your own household. Is your child steadfastly devoted to macaroni and cheese? Take heart—they are not merely being difficult; they are specialists following an ancient biological imperative!

In an era before our digital cornucopia of plant identification applications, drawings of Merian's caliber were treasured beyond measure. One glance at her work was sufficient for Linnaeus to recognize her brilliance. Even in death, her legacy flourished, helping to classify nearly 100 different species. Modern entomologists stand in awe of her precision—so exquisite is her artistry that they can identify many of her butterflies and moths to the very species!

During her final year on this earthly plane, between 1716 and 1717, Merian received multiple visits from her friend, the artist Georg Gsell, accompanied by Peter the Great. Can you envision the conversation between these three remarkable souls? What extraordinary exchanges must have graced that room!

Gsell would later marry Merian's youngest daughter, Dorothea Maria, while Peter the Great acquired 256 of Merian's paintings. Such was his admiration for her work that upon learning of her death following his final visit, he immediately dispatched an agent to purchase all her remaining watercolors and transport them to his palace in St. Petersburg.

Allow me to share a delightful anecdote with you.

The Maria Sibylla Merian Society website features a video showing writer Redmond O'Hanlon examining an original Merian folio (with bare hands, no less—a sight to make any conservator gasp!)

O'Hanlon, himself a distinguished scholar and explorer renowned for expeditions into some of the world's most remote jungles, is rendered momentarily speechless by the magnificence before him.

After releasing a profound sigh, he declares:

"It's so simple. Without the slightest doubt, she is—she was the greatest painter of plants and insects who ever lived... I mean, just between you and me, she's the greatest woman who ever lived. You can keep Catherine the Great. Maria Sybilla Merian is the real heroine of our civilized time."