Tulipa Gesneriana with Butterfly and Bee

Watercolor and gouache. World-famous painter Maria Sibylla Merian lived in Nuremberg for twelve years, and her artistry introduced Nuremberg to a new art tradition whose influence survived for generations afterwards. It is considered the inspiration for the natural-history "cabinet paintings" of the 18th century. In Nuremberg, it was the Dietzsch family of artists who specialized in this kind of painting. All seven children trained in the studio of their father, Johann Israel Dietzsch. While the boys concentrated on landscape painting, Barbara Regina and her sister Margaretha Barbara concentrated on individual items of local flora and fauna. Barbara Regina, the eldest daughter, is now considered the family's most talented and productive member. Her masterfully painted flowers and insects are reflections of divine creation. These closely observed, highly detailed still lifes are decorative cabinet works that stand on their own merits.