This watercolor depicting the life cycle of a frog is ascribed to the famous naturalist and illustrator, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717). Daughter of the prominent Frankfurt printmaker, Matthias Merian, Maria Sibylla developed a keen interest in the life cycles of plants, insects, and amphibians, producing detailed scientific illustrations of her subjects. In 1679, she published the first volume of a groundbreaking two-volume series on the metamorphosis of caterpillars, which included over 100 illustrations. Twenty years later, while living in Amsterdam, Merian mounted a self-funded scientific journey to the Dutch colony of Suriname in South America. Traveling with her daughter Dorothea Maria, she spent two years traveling around Suriname studying and sketching the local flora and fauna. Upon her return to Europe, she published her research on the life cycles of the insects of Suriname in Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium (1705), accompanied by her detailed watercolor illustrations.