MERIAN, MARIA Snivm.A., 1647-1717; b. Germany; daughter of MattMins Merian, a Swiss engraver, and sister of the historical painter Matthilus Pierian; had a natural talent for drawing and painting, which developed in the direction of flowers and insects. She was the pupil of Abraham Mi,rnon, celebrated for his exquisite representations of flowers. fruit, and insects. In 1665 sfie married Johann Andreas Graff, a painter, and removed to Nuremburg. She was never called by her married name, inore fame attaching to her own, and published, 1679-83, an illustrated work iu the Dutch language, 2 vols., Origin of Caterpillars; their Nourishment and Changes. It was translated into Latin in 1717, published in Amsterdam with a portrait of herself engraved by Houhraken; and in 1730, a French edition appeared, entitled Histoire Generale des Insectes de l'Earope. Iu 1698 she went to Surinam, and pursued her studies in South America, remaining there until 1701, publishing the result of her labor under the title of Generation and Tran.Tormation qf
Insects, 2 vols., with colored plates, and an additional volume by one of her daughters. She had 2 daughters, Jane Helen and Dorothea Maria Henrietta, who after their mother's death gaire a new edition of her work to the public. The original was published in Amsterdam in 1705. In 1768-71 all her works were published, in Paris, under the title of Histoire cies 'weeks de l'Europe et de l'Amerique. .A. number of her original drawings, upon vellum hound in 2 vols., noted for their skill and accuracy, are in the British museum collection among the prints, and, with a portrait of herself, were the property of sir Hans Sloane. They were purchased at a great price, and the European spechnens are said to be entirely original delineations, celebrated for scrupulous exactness. There are collections of her drawings in St. Petersburg, Holland, and Frankfort. She excelled as a writer no less than in the more conspicuous professions of painter and naturalist.