The book accompanied exhibitions in both the Getty Museum, Los Angeles and the Rembrandt House, Amsterdam. An exceptionally independent woman in her age, Maria Sybilla Merian was at the same time artist, biologist and business woman. Though without formal education for any of these titles, she excelled in all.

Throughout her industrious and pious life, she produced a body of work of stunning beauty and scientific accuracy. Merian's research revealed a natural world radically different from what people had supposed. From the review: "[The] meticulously close examination of the paintings, engravings, books and colored prints [...] makes it easy for readers (helped by marvelous illustrations) to see the distinct sensibilities of al the different members of [the Merian] family."