Maria Sibylla Merian (Frankfurt 1647 – Amsterdam 1717) was a German naturalist, explorer and painter of Swiss parents. At that time, by a surprising regulation, women were forbidden in many German cities to acquire oil paints, so she learned to paint using only watercolor and tempera. She is now considered one of the most important initiators of modern entomology. She was the first person who, following a scientific method, empirically proved that insects hatch from eggs and do not arise as a result of spontaneous generation.