Metamorphosis of a Small Emperor Moth on a Damson Plum, plate 13 of the Caterpillar Book, Maria Sibylla Merian (1679)
This drawing depicts the life cycle of the small emperor moth (Saturnia pavonia) placed around one of its main food sources, a damson plum tree (Prunus domestica). With artful arrangement and careful observation, Merian systematically illustrated the insect's development from an egg, seen in the lower left, to the mature moth hovering in the upper right. In between are the pupa, a glistening brown cocoon, and the early and later growth of the caterpillar. The artist took special care to describe each element in vivid detail, using vibrant and varied colors of green to capture the individual leaves of the tree and distinguish their forms from what she described as a "beautiful green caterpillar."
Merian used a counterproof impression of plate 13 of her Caterpillar Book to create the design. This was done by first pulling a freshly printed impression from the original engraved plate and then placing a sheet, in this case parchment, on top of the still wet print and running it through the printing press a second time. The result was a delicate outline of the composition. Often, Merian individualized counterproofs by selectively blocking out and rearranging passages. Here, she has removed some of the smaller insects that crawled along the plum tree's leaves, which brings greater emphasis to the foliage, the flowering branch, and the caterpillar. Merian hand-colored these counterproofs and sold them as unique works of art.
