circa 1597 -1631 · Holstein, Netherlands, Rome and Venice

Venetian color, Caravaggesque energy and Nordic sensuality make Johann Liss a European Baroque meteor.

Johann Liss was born around 1597 in Oldenburg in Holstein. His training remains poorly documented, but his career reveals exceptional mobility. He stayed in the Netherlands between around 1615 and 1619, where he observed peasant scenes, games and genre painting. Around 1620, he reached Venice; he then worked in Rome between 1622 and 1625 before returning to the lagoon. These trips allowed him to bring together traditions that were often opposed. From Northern Europe came popular figures, the verve of gesture and certain tavern subjects; from Rome, chiaroscuro and Caravaggesque tension; from Venice, the warm color, the supple touch and the movement of the flesh. Judith and Holofernes captures the moment of danger in a tight space. A bachic feast transforms abundance into the rhythm of bodies and fabrics. Moses saved from the waters combines biblical story, landscape and colorful brilliance, while The Ecstasy of Saint Paul pushes the composition towards a visionary light. Liss paints quickly, varies the impasto and lets the color shape the shapes instead of enclosing them in a strict outline. In Venice, he acquired a great reputation and let color shape the shapes instead of enclosing them in a strict outline. In Venice, he acquired a great reputation and let color shape the shapes instead of enclosing them in a strict outline. In Venice, he acquired a great reputation and allowed color to shape the shapes instead of enclosing them in a strict outline. In Venice, he acquired a great reputation and allowed color to shape the shapes instead of enclosing them in a strict outline. In Venice, he acquired a great reputation and allowed color to shape the shapes instead of enclosing them in a strict outline. In Venice, he acquired a great reputation and allowed color to shape the shapes instead of enclosing them in a strict outline. In Venice, he acquired a great reputation and allowed color to shape the shapes instead of enclosing them in a strict outline. In Venice, he acquired a great reputation and allowed color to shape the shapes instead of enclosing them in a strict outline. In Venice, he acquired a great reputation and allowed deeply pictorial. The "Johann Liss" selection notably compares Judith and Holofernes and A Bachique Feast. His reading favors drawing.

Liss paints like a traveler who refuses to choose: Nordic storytelling, Roman shadow and Venetian color burn together in the same touch.