Surinam Insects and Plants (14) — Antique Botanical Print

Maria Sibylla Merian pioneered a radically new way of illustrating insects: rather than showing a single specimen in isolation, she depicted each one through its full life cycle, from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to adult, arranged on the very plant it fed upon. This approach, first developed in her studies of European caterpillars and later applied to the insects of Suriname, helped overturn the widespread belief that insects spontaneously generated from mud. This print, part of that series, likely follows the same pairing of a Surinamese insect with its host plant.

Materials & origin

• Material: 200 gsm gallery-grade, acid-free fine-art paper (FSC-certified).
• Print: Archival giclée, 12-colour printing, smooth matte finish for glare-free display.
• Artwork: Restored from a public-domain original; colour and detail digitally cleaned for large-format print.
• Origin: Made on demand and shipped from the print hub nearest you, cutting transit and waste.
• Framing: Sold unframed; ships rolled in a protective tube.