The artist and entrepreneur in Maria Sibylla Merian

The art of Maria Sibylla Merian, with its rich colours and insects that look as though they are about to take flight, defies categorization. A fusion of empiricism, after life accuracy, and aesthetic eloquence, her works represent the best in both the illustration of natural history and of visual art of the seventeenth century. This presentation, which is based on the forthcoming book Maria Sibylla Merian, focuses on the innovation contained in the artist's work and on the significance of networks to the success of the workshop she ran with her daughters, as well as on the complicated relationship between gender and the art of nature, as evidenced in the reception of Merian and of her art in the seventeenth century. 

Dr. Catherine Powell-Warren is a lecturer at the University of Leuven. Her research focuses on the role of early modern women in the creation, production, and patronage of art in the Low Countries, with a special focus on the place of women in networks and communities. Maria Sibylla Merian, published as part of the series Illuminating Women Artists by Lund Humphries in Europe and Getty in North America, is her second book. 

When 

Sunday 7 september 2025 at 11 a.m.  

• Doors: 10.45 a.m. | optional for parents: children's workshop 

• Start lecture: 11 a.m.

• end lecture: 12 a.m. 

• end children's workshop: 12:15 a.m. 

   

Location  

Rubenshuis, Hopland 13, 2000 Antwerpen 

Price (including entrance ticket to the garden)  

Free workshop for children between 6 and 12 years of age of parents who have a ticket for this lecture.  Book a free spot for your child at rubenshuis@antwerpen.be with the following info: 

• Number of children and their age  

• Name and e-mail address of ticket holder 

Important 

• Seats provided 

• The lecture will take place in the Burchard Hall of the Kolveniershof (entrance via Hopland 13). Please note that this hall is only accessible by stairs and therefore less accessible for wheelchair users and visitors with reduced mobility. 

   

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