The J. Paul Getty Museum will host the exhibit, Maria Sibylla Merian & Daughters: Women of Art & Science, June 10 – August 31, 2008. Several exhibit-related activities are planned, including a demonstration and Point-of-View talk by Australian botanical artist, Jenny Phillips, and various activities that will be led by members of the Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California.
Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) dedicated her life to the study and depiction of the metamorphosis of insects. Merian’s extraordinary accomplishments in art and science and those of her most important pupils – her daughters Johanna Helena and Dorothea Maria – will be on view in the first major exhibiton of Merian’s work in America.
The exhibition will explore various aspects of Merian’s career, including her hand-colored publications on flowers and insects, her successful business venture in Amsterdam as a specimen-supplier for collectors and naturalists, and her extraordinary journey to Suriname and the scientific discoveries that resulted. Specimens of actual insects, including the large Blue Morpho butterfly, will be included in the exhibition alongside Merian’s rendering – providing a rare opportunity for scholars, nature lovers, and families to experience European and exotic insects first hand.
For more information, download the press release here.
For a complete listing of exhibit-related events, download a copy of the schedule here.
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