Related external works: reference

Maria Sibylla Merian, Rothe Weiden / Salix, acuto folio, multiplex, Kupferstich, abgedruckt in: Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung, und sonderbare Blumen=nahrung, Nürnberg, Frankfurt am Main und Leipzig, Bd. 1, 1679, Tf. 27

Willow leaves with poplar leaf beetle, eggs and larvae, after 1679

Blatt: 203 x 137 mm

Physical Description: Watercolour and gouache over transfer print on vellum, framed on all sides with a black line

Inventory Number: 1496

Object Number: 1496 Z

Acquisition: Acquired in 1817 from the Johann Georg Grambs Collection

Status: Can be presented in the study room of the Graphische Sammlung (special opening hours)

Texts

About the Work

Composed with great artistic sensibility, while at the same time striving for the utmost fidelity to nature, this drawing depicts the stages of a poplar leaf beetle’s development. In the accompanying text in the Caterpillar Book, published in 1679, Merian described the mature beetles as “yellow”, but coloured them bright red, in keeping with their appearance in real life.