Search results

Start typing

Half height banner for Maria Merian exhibition, showing a butterfly
This exhibition is in the past. View our current exhibitions.
MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN (1647-1717)

Branch of Nipple Fruit with Leaf Mantis and Bean Leaf Skeletonizer

1702-03

RCIN 921181

Merian combined a number of insects in this drawing, among them a maggot crawling up the stem of the plant. She was eager to witness the life cycle of this maggot, having been promised it would become a grasshopper, but her specimen died. She illustrated it, nonetheless, ‘in order to give other enthusiasts the incentive to find out about it for themselves.’

    The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.