Join us in marking the release of Maria Sibylla Merian: Artist, Scientist, Adventurer, a stunning new book co-authored by Emeritus Fellow of St Hugh’s College, Dr Jeyaraney Kathirithamby.
Dr Kathirithamby will open our celebrations with a public lecture on Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) as a naturalist and scientific illustrator in the Lecture Theatre at the Weston Library. Maria Sibylla was one of the first naturalists to make careful observations of the metamorphosis of insects and amphibians, at a time when little was known about it. Her delicate illustrations were brilliantly coloured, and her notes remarkable for their scientific detail, considering that she only worked with a paint brush and a magnifying glass.
Following the lecture, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy a viewing of the Weston Library’s exhibition, ‘Sappho to Suffrage: women who dared’, with an introduction from the exhibition’s curator and St Hugh’s Fellow in History, Professor Senia Paseta. The exhibition features a 1719 facsimile of Maria Sibylla Merian’s engravings of The Insects of Surinam, her magnum opus.
We will arrange transport for St Hugh’s alumni and friends, and their guests, from the Weston Library to St Hugh’s for a reception hosted by the Principal, the Rt Hon Dame Elish Angiolini DBE QC.
Tickets for this event are free, but booking is required. To reserve your ticket(s), please complete the booking form below.
If you have already reserved tickets for the lecture directly through the Bodleian Library and would like to join us for the reception at St Hugh’s, please let the St Hugh’s Development Team know.
