Sauvegarde (american Reptile) – Maria Sibilla Merian (1647–1717)
Artist: Maria Sibylla Merian
Our spectacular and rare engraving is plate 70 from the book *Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium*, which brings together Maria Sibylla Merian’s engraved drawings of insects and animals. Second edition, 1719.
In this historical context, the term “Sauvegarde” refers to a large lizard (a tegu, an Amazonian reptile) depicted in its natural habitat. In Tupi, an Amerindian language, “tégou” means “silvery.” Even today, the scientific name of this reptile, “Salvator merianae,” pays homage to Anna Maria Sibylla Merian, the first observer to have described it.
The artistic qualities of our print can be attributed Maria Sibylla’s training as a still-life painter. The anatomical accuracy stems from her early passion for entomology and her use of the microscope, which allowed her to reproduce the finest details. Our artist’s thirst for knowledge led her to undertake a perilous study trip to Suriname in 1699, from which she brought back numerous unpublished studies and dried insects. From then on, she worked as much as an artist as a scientist that she published her "Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium" in 1705. This major compilation, the result of her journey to the Americas, served as a reference work for leading scientists, such as Carl von Linné, who cited her illustrations 136 times in his comprehensive taxonomy of species.
Our print is mounted in a gilded frame, behind mat board and anti-reflective, UV-protective glass.
Dimensions: 28 x 38 cm – 46 x 56 cm with the frame
Biography: Maria Sibylla Merian (Frankfurt, April 2, 1647 –Amsterdam, Jan. 13, 1717) discovered drawing through her stepfather, the still-life painterJacob Marrel. His studio contained a collection of dried plants and insects that the young Maria practiced copying. However, by the age of 13, she realized that studying live specimens would allow her to achieve a more accurate representation of reality. Thus, she recounted having “set aside her social life and devoted all her time to observing insects and honing her skills as a painter, so that she might draw and paint specimens as they appear in nature.” Both a publisher and an artist, Maria Sibylla Merian headed a prolific studio where many other women worked—women whom the guilds often denied access to grand historical painting. Her two daughters, Johanna Helena Herolt (1668–1723) and Dorothea Maria Henrietta Gsell (1678–1743), spent most of their careers in the family studio, to the point that it is often difficult to distinguish their works from those of their mother.
Bibliography:
- REISTMA, Ella (ed.), Maria Sibylla Merian & Daughters: Women of Art and Science, (exh. cat. Rembrandt House Museum, Amsterdam, Feb. 23, 2008 – May 18, 2008, J. PaulGetty Museum, Los Angeles, June 10, 2008 – Aug. 31, 2008), Oxford University Press, 2008.
- VAN DEROEMER, Bert, Maria Sibylla Merian: Changing the Nature of Art and Science, Tielt, Lannoo, 2022.
- WETTENGL, Kurt, Maria Sibylla Merian, 1647–1717: Artist and Naturalist, Ostfildern-Ruit, Verlag Gerd Hatje, 1998.
- HOND, Jande, Crawly Creatures: Little Animals in Art and Science, (exh. cat., Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Sept. 30, 2022 – Jan. 15, 2023), Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, 2022.
- NERI, Janice, The Insect and the Image: Visualizing Nature in Early Modern Europe, 1500–1700. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2011.
In this historical context, the term “Sauvegarde” refers to a large lizard (a tegu, an Amazonian reptile) depicted in its natural habitat. In Tupi, an Amerindian language, “tégou” means “silvery.” Even today, the scientific name of this reptile, “Salvator merianae,” pays homage to Anna Maria Sibylla Merian, the first observer to have described it.
The artistic qualities of our print can be attributed Maria Sibylla’s training as a still-life painter. The anatomical accuracy stems from her early passion for entomology and her use of the microscope, which allowed her to reproduce the finest details. Our artist’s thirst for knowledge led her to undertake a perilous study trip to Suriname in 1699, from which she brought back numerous unpublished studies and dried insects. From then on, she worked as much as an artist as a scientist that she published her "Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium" in 1705. This major compilation, the result of her journey to the Americas, served as a reference work for leading scientists, such as Carl von Linné, who cited her illustrations 136 times in his comprehensive taxonomy of species.
Our print is mounted in a gilded frame, behind mat board and anti-reflective, UV-protective glass.
Dimensions: 28 x 38 cm – 46 x 56 cm with the frame
Biography: Maria Sibylla Merian (Frankfurt, April 2, 1647 –Amsterdam, Jan. 13, 1717) discovered drawing through her stepfather, the still-life painterJacob Marrel. His studio contained a collection of dried plants and insects that the young Maria practiced copying. However, by the age of 13, she realized that studying live specimens would allow her to achieve a more accurate representation of reality. Thus, she recounted having “set aside her social life and devoted all her time to observing insects and honing her skills as a painter, so that she might draw and paint specimens as they appear in nature.” Both a publisher and an artist, Maria Sibylla Merian headed a prolific studio where many other women worked—women whom the guilds often denied access to grand historical painting. Her two daughters, Johanna Helena Herolt (1668–1723) and Dorothea Maria Henrietta Gsell (1678–1743), spent most of their careers in the family studio, to the point that it is often difficult to distinguish their works from those of their mother.
Bibliography:
- REISTMA, Ella (ed.), Maria Sibylla Merian & Daughters: Women of Art and Science, (exh. cat. Rembrandt House Museum, Amsterdam, Feb. 23, 2008 – May 18, 2008, J. PaulGetty Museum, Los Angeles, June 10, 2008 – Aug. 31, 2008), Oxford University Press, 2008.
- VAN DEROEMER, Bert, Maria Sibylla Merian: Changing the Nature of Art and Science, Tielt, Lannoo, 2022.
- WETTENGL, Kurt, Maria Sibylla Merian, 1647–1717: Artist and Naturalist, Ostfildern-Ruit, Verlag Gerd Hatje, 1998.
- HOND, Jande, Crawly Creatures: Little Animals in Art and Science, (exh. cat., Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Sept. 30, 2022 – Jan. 15, 2023), Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, 2022.
- NERI, Janice, The Insect and the Image: Visualizing Nature in Early Modern Europe, 1500–1700. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2011.
1 400 €
Period: 18th century
Style: Louis 14th, Regency
Condition: Good condition
Material: Paper
Width: 56
Height: 46
Reference (ID): 1834955
Availability: In stock
Print
