The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science written by Joyce Sidman is a beautiful biography of this 17th Century naturalist and artist born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1647. One hundred and sixty pages strong, this biography hosts gorgeous drawings and watercolors of flowers and butterflies by Maria and other artists of the day including the man who taught her how to paint, still life artist Jacob Marrel, her stepfather.
During this time girls were not allowed to paint or participate in artistic endeavors except in household arts such as embroidery. They could not be part of a guild, take formal instruction or work outside the home. Her stepfather, however, could see Maria was clearly talented. She even shared his love of insects! She gathered bees, beetles, wasps and butterflies for him so that he could include them in his pictures of flowers to add interest.
At thirteen she raised and studied silkworms. This led her to a lifetime of relentless watching and recording the process of metamorphosis, a topic greatly discussed at that time. Her first book, New Book of Flowers, was published in 1675 expressly for women who were informally studying with her. This was the first of her many publications. The Wonderous Transformation of Caterpillars and their Particular Nourishment from Flowers was published in 1679.
Joyce Sidman’s book is not only well-researched with a Glossary, Timelines, maps, Sources and a Bibliography but is also filled with beautiful drawings and paintings of butterflies, moths, and flowers such as Maria’s Turk’s Cap Lily and frontispiece for her caterpillar book.
The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science won the 2019 Robert Sibert Medal for informational books and is a stunning gift book for serious readers 10-13 years of age (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018).
Activity questions for The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science
Maria loved insects from an early age. She spent her girlhood and adult years watching and recording the stages of metamorphosis for a variety of insects such as butterflies, caterpillars, beetles and moths. Have you ever seen a butterfly crawl out of its chrysalis? Close your eyes and pretend you are inside your chrysalis where it is dark and small. Hold your arms close around your body. Now slowly begin to move and push out toward the light. Feel your body emerging. Let your arms move as you emerge and fly! Go ahead. Feel the freedom.
Look at Maria’s watercolor of the stages of the development of the Emperor Moth. (page 53) Study the Cherry branch and all of the stages of development from the eggs, to the caterpillar, to the cocoon and pupa and finally to the emperor moth itself. Make a drawing of your own based on this watercolor. We suggest using colored pencils in order to control all of the details. Have fun and take time.
Select one of the following topics mentioned in this book to study further: Curiosity Cabinets, “spontaneous generation” or guilds and women’s rights in the 17th Century.