Maria Sibylla Merian (1647 - 1717)

This amazing woman, born on April 2, 1647 in Frankfurt-am-Maine, Germany, was actually a natural historian. Her father died when she was only three, and her older brothers and sisters took over running the family publishing business. Her mother married a Dutch painter who saw immediately that his stepdaughter Maria was incredibly talented and continued teaching her how to illustrate flowers. However, Maria's mother divorced her second husband, so the young artist had to continue studying on her own. Maria's oldest sister had married a merchant traveled to Surinam in South America and when Maria heard about the exotic place, she decided to travel there herself.

In 1699, at age 52, Maria and her youngest daughter embarked on the three-month voyage. Together the mother and daughter traveled all over, including into the jungle where they were often in danger. Maria even raised her own live specimens of bugs. She wrote and illustrated a book about the insects of Surinam. In 1711, she had a stroke but managed to keep working for another six years. She died on January 13, 1717 in Amsterdam. After her mother's death, Maria's daughter published her mother's life works. The watercolor illustrations of plants and insects are beautiful and detailed. Two hundred years after her death, some of Maria Sibylla Merian's work was used for two U.S. postage stamps!