Background
Matthäus Merian, Sr. was born on September 22, 1593, Basel, Switzerland.
Matthäus Merian, Sr. was born on September 22, 1593, Basel, Switzerland.
In 1609 Merian began studying with Dietrich Meyer, a painter and engraver of Zürich, and in 1613 he moved to Nancy. After studying in Paris, Stuttgart (1616), and the Low Countries, he went to Frankfurt.
He worked at Oppenheim, then returned to Basel, but went back to Frankfurt after his wife’s death (1623) to take over his business.
Merian completed in 1624 the great record of discovery and travel Collectiones Peregrinationum in Indiam ("Collections of Travels in India"), begun by the de Brys in 1590. The business remained in Merian’s family until 1726, when a fire destroyed it. Between 1625 and 1630 Merian published illustrations to the Bible. In 1635 he began the series Theatrum Europaeum, and between 1642 and 1688 he published Martin Zeiller’s Topographia Germaniae, with more than 2, 000 plates etched and engraved by himself and his sons. Among his last works was "Dance of Death" (1649).
Matthäus Merian died on June 19, 1650, after several years of illness.
In 1617, Matthäus Merian, Sr. married Maria Magdalena de Bry, daughter of the publisher. They had four daughters and three sons. Maria Magdalena de Bry died in 1645 and the following year Matthäus married Johanna Catharina Hein, they had three children.
Maria Sibylla Merian was a German-born naturalist and scientific illustrator.
Matthäus Merian, Jr. was a Swiss engraver and portrait painter.
