Johann Liss

circa 1597 Oldenburg, Holstein – 1631 Verona

Johann Liss was a painter, draughtsman and etcher from Oldenburg. At around the age of eighteen Liss went first to Holland, where he was probably active in Amsterdam and Haarlem and was influenced, among others, by Willem Buytewech and in all likelihood Hendrick Goltzius as well. He quite possibly then made his way via Antwerp and Paris to Venice, where he arrived around 1620/21 and encountered the works of Domenico Fetti – for him an important discovery. Finally, Liss stayed in Rome from about 1622 to 1625. The influence of the Caravaggists, in particular, was significant for him here, as were the works of Annibale Carracci and Francesco Albani that he studied.