Metamorphosis of a Small Emperor Moth on a Damson Plum, plate 13 of the Caterpillar Book

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). Based on her careful observation, Merian systematically illustrated different stages of the insect's development: young brown caterpillar and mature green caterpillar, spun cocoon and glistening pupa, and, hovering above, adult moth. 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.

Digital image and text courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.