Johann Georg von Dillis

1759 Gmain – 1841 Munich

Johann Georg von Dillis was a talented and very industrious draughtsman, whose immediate and timeless nature studies ensured him a very special place in the world of German draughtsmanship around 1800. He was appointed professor of landscape painting at the Munich Academy in 1808 and in his autobiography he says that he gave up this position just six years later because he thought young artists should see nature and not the academy as their teacher – a statement indicative of the independent, non-conformist character of this prominent artist. Dillis gave up etching almost completely around 1800 in order to fulfil his ambitions as a draughtsman.