„Maria Sibylla Merian: Changing the nature of art and science” recieves „Annual Literature Award“
Article “The Transition Stage. Merian’s studies of Pupa, Chrysalis, and Cocoon” by K. Schmidt-Loske and Kay Etheridge. In: Maria Sibylla Merian: Changing the nature of art and science. Bert van de Roemer, Florence Pieters, Hans Mulder, Kay Etheridge and Marieke van Delft (eds.),
Lannoo Publishers nv, Tielt, 2022. ISBN
978-94-014-8533-3: pp. 98 – 110. © LIB, K.Schmidt-Loske
In May, the book “Maria Sibylla Merian: Changing the nature of art and science” was honored with the 2024 Annual Literature Award of the The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries (CBHL) in Michigan (USA): “…for a work that makes a significant contribution to the literature of botany or horticulture”. Dr Katharina Schmidt-Loske, scientific lead of our Biohistoricum, is one of the authors of this work.
An international team of 22 authors were delighted to receive the news of the prestigious award. Katharina Schmidt-Loske contributed the chapter “The Transition Stage. Merian’s Studies of Pupa, Chrysalis, and Cocoon…”, which she co-authored with Kay Etheridge, professor of biology at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, USA. Katharina Schmidt-Loske has been studying the artist and naturalist for more than 30 years, as have many of her colleagues in the team of authors. They came together over 10 years ago at the University of Amsterdam. They were united by their fascination and enthusiasm for Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) and her work. They finally founded 2014 The Maria Sibylla Merian Society, a network of researchers from the fields of zoology, botany, art and literature.
The book comprises various chapters dealing with the observation of nature, her life story, her networks and technical techniques in copperplate engraving. It also deals with the presentation of her works. The three volumes of her caterpillar book and the Surinamese insect work can be found in some of the world’s major libraries.
What went through your mind when you were informed of the award?
It was a big surprise for the whole team! The award makes us proud, because only particularly high-quality scientific works are honored.
What does the prize mean for you personally, your future work & the book itself?
I am very pleased about the award. It is remarkable that in this book Maria Sibylla Merian is perceived as both a botanist and a zoologist. The work “Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium” is historically regarded more as a botanical work, although it is also a work about insect transformation – metamorphosis – and therefore also a zoological work. In the 16th and 17th centuries, botanical works and literature were much more popular among garden lovers than zoological works, mainly because of their rich illustrations. The books by Sibylla Merian, especially the above-mentioned main work in folio format, are today regarded as central works of botanical and zoological book illustration. Due to the joint depiction of botanical and zoological motifs in their interrelatedness, Merian can be confidently regarded as an early ecologist.
What happens next with the “Merian” theme?
My enthusiasm to continue researching this topic is undiminished. I will continue to work on historical biology and the border area between biology and art in the future. I am currently working on an art exhibition on the still life painter Rachel Ruysch, which will open in November at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Rachel Ruysch also lived in Amsterdam at the same time as Maria Sibylla Merian and worked on the depiction of insects from overseas collections. A next major Merian project is in preparation – I don’t want to reveal any more yet.
Further information about the book can be found here.
The prizewinner Katharina Schmidt-Loske with the award-winning book “Changing the nature of art and science”. © private
