Johanna Helena Herolt

Herolt was the eldest daughter of the painters Maria Sibylla Merian, and Johann Andreas Graff, and learned to paint from them along with her sister Dorothea Maria Graff. Though she was born in Frankfurt, in 1670 the family moved to Nuremberg, where she was raised. Though Johann Graff joined his family later, in 1686 Merian left her husband and moved with her two daughters and her mother to a religious community of Labadists in Wieuwerd, Friesland. Johann Graff made various attempts at reconciliation but eventually returned to Germany. In 1691 the four women moved to Amsterdam, where they set up a studio painting flowers and botanical subjects, continuing Merian's work on "The Caterpillar Book". Johanna married the merchant Jacob Hendrik Herolt, also an ex-Labadist, on 28 June 1692. They had two children and Johanna began to take on her own commissions, working for Agnes Block and the Amsterdam Hortus like her mother. Johanna moved with her husband to Surinam in 1711 where she died sometime after 1723. == Collaborations with Merian ==

Many works of Johanna have been mistaken for the work of her mother, Merian. In some instances, Merian and Herolt worked together, and one instance is the painting of the "Succulent." Johanna's Succulent is presented with roots intact with the body with the seeds as well. After the flowering stage of the succulent, the seeds are formed. The blank background accentuates the purpose of the drawing which is for natural history. It gives the reader more attention to the plant than the space around it. In the early modern period, women were inclined to draw plants and animals. Women weren't seen as suitable for historical scenes at that time. The collection in Leiden includes drawings in this genre by at least six women. Johanna Helena Herolt's watercolors reveal a fascination not only with flowers, but also with insect metamorphosis, as did her mother, Maria Sibylla Merian. Herolt's works are decorated with detailed depictions of the insects that accompany her plants. Mother and daughter collaborated on numerous works, including The Insects of Suriname, which proved especially popular. Herolt had a unique talent that is often misattributed to her famous mother, but this work demonstrates Herolt's own talent. ==Botanical Art==

A numbered series of 49 drawings signed by Herolt on vellum are in the collection of the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, in Brunswick. File:Farmer's Peony.jpg|Farmer's Peony File:Two Tulips and Two Irises.jpg|Two Tulips and Two Irises ==References==