Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
The artist Maria Sibylla Merian was one of the most important entomologists of the 17th century. Her studies of caterpillars, which she reared herself, contributed to knowledge of the life cycles of numerous species. Trained as a miniature painter by her stepfather, she combined her artistic talent with her scientific interest, creating images such as this one, which portrays the life cycle of the European pink-spotted hawk moth as well as its favorite food, the morning glory. Merian added additional caterpillar species to the sheet to create a pleasing and astonishingly detailed composition.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
329329
label
Convolvulus and Metamorphosis of the Convolvulus Hawk Moth
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
329329
contentType
drawing
title
Convolvulus and Metamorphosis of the Convolvulus Hawk Moth
description
The artist Maria Sibylla Merian was one of the most important entomologists of the 17th century. Her studies of caterpillars, which she reared herself, contributed to knowledge of the life cycles of numerous species. Trained as a miniature painter by her stepfather, she combined her artistic talent with her scientific interest, creating images such as this one, which portrays the life cycle of the European pink-spotted hawk moth as well as its favorite food, the morning glory. Merian added additional caterpillar species to the sheet to create a pleasing and astonishingly detailed composition.
date
c. 1670–90
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79875813
creators
26257
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Support: 41 x 54.7 x 0.2 cm (16 1/8 x 21 9/16 x 1/16 in.); Image: 28.9 x 37.2 cm (11 3/8 x 14 5/8 in.)
cul
Netherlands
accession
2019.9
Source extras
tec
watercolor with touches of opaque watercolor over indications in black chalk or graphite on vellum
tombstone
Convolvulus and Metamorphosis of the Convolvulus Hawk Moth, c. 1670–90. Maria Sibylla Merian (German, active Netherlands, 1647–1717). Watercolor with touches of opaque watercolor over indications in black chalk or graphite on vellum; support: 41 x 54.7 x 0.2 cm (16 1/8 x 21 9/16 x 1/16 in.); image: 28.9 x 37.2 cm (11 3/8 x 14 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 2019.9
collection
DR - Swiss
inscriptions
inscription
recto, signed, lower right in brown ink: M. Sybilla Merian
inscription
inscribed lower right above signature in graphite: No 61 and lower left in graphite A
inscription
on mount, brown ink, Surinamse Liguster pylstaart Uyl met de Rups en sop and No. 45. A. and Sibilla Merian fecit 1670.
inscription
on mount, underneath sheet, inscribed, brown ink, Sibilla Merian fe.
didYouKnow
The artist who drew this life cycle of the European pink-spotted hawk moth from egg through caterpillar, pupa, and adult insect reared caterpillars in her home for 10 years before writing and illustrating a definitive text on metamorphosis.
citations
citation
Reitsma, Ella, and Sandrine A. Ulenberg. Maria Sibylla Merian & Daughters: Women of Art and Science. Amsterdam: Rembrandt House Museum, 2008.
page_number
p. 110-11
citation
Peters, Emily. “Acquisitions 2019: Drawings.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>60, no. 2 (March/April 2020): 20-21.
page_number
Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 20.
citation
Griswold, William M. “Recent Acquisitions (2013-20) at the Cleveland Museum of Art.” <em>Burlington Magazine </em>163, no. 1414 (January 2021): 93-104.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 96, no. 6
citation
Banta, Andaleeb Badiee, Alexa Greist, and Theresa Kutasz Christensen. <em>Making Her Mark: A History of Women Artists in Europe, 1400-1800</em>. Fredericton, New Brunswick : Goose Lane Editions ; Toronto, Ontario : AGO ; Baltimore, Maryland : Baltimore Museum of Art, 2023.
page_number
Mentioned, pp. 111, 227, illus. (detail), p. 111, fig. 9, cat. 167, p. 230, illus., p. 230.
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:56:36.010000
sourceId
329329
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - Swiss
med
watercolor with touches of opaque watercolor over indications in black chalk or graphite on vellum
creatorTags
female
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
15b92a34a3a04431