42JaehrigeGoetheKreidezeichnungVonLips1791S129

Johann Heinrich Lips (29 April 1758, in

Kloten Kloten is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal). History Kloten is first mentioned in 1155 as ''Chlotun''. Geography Kloten is located in the Gl ...

– 5 May 1817, in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

) was a Swiss

copper engraver Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

; mostly of portraits.

Biography

His father was the village surgeon and barber. His Latin teacher, the local pastor, introduced him to

Johann Caspar Lavater Johann Kaspar (or Caspar) Lavater (; 15 November 1741 – 2 January 1801) was a Swiss poet, writer, philosopher, physiognomist and theologian. Early life Lavater was born in Zürich, and was educated at the '' Gymnasium'' there, where J. J. Bo ...

who was impressed by Lips' talent for drawing, persuaded his parents to let him study art, and arranged an apprenticeship for him with the painter,

Johann Caspar Füssli Johann Caspar Füssli (3 January 1706 – 6 May 1782) was a Swiss portrait painter and writer. Biography Füssli was born in Zurich to Hans Rudolf Füssli, who was also a painter, and Elisabeth Schärer. He studied painting in Vienna betwe ...

. Later, he was also able to obtain a position with the

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

Johann Rudolf Schellenberg Johann Rudolph Schellenberg (4 January 1740, Basel – 8 June 1806, Töss, a district in the city of Winterthur) was a Swiss artist, writer and entomologist best known for his illustrations of insects. During his career he performed illustr ...

, in

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...

. From 1774 to 1776, he worked with Schellenberg to produce the illustrations for Lavater's famous work ''Physiognomische Fragmente zur Beförderung der Menschenkenntniß und Menschenliebe'', a major

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions."Treat ...

physiognomy Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the general ...

. Following that, he briefly worked with Johann Caspar's son, Johann Heinrich Füssli, better known as

Henry Fuseli Henry Fuseli ( ; German: Johann Heinrich Füssli ; 7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his works, such as ''The Nightmare'', deal with supernatura ...

. From 1780 to 1782, with financial assistance, he made a study tour of Germany which included time at the Drawing Academy in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

and a visit to

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, where he discovered the works of

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

. From 1782 to 1789, he spent much of his time in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he became part of the German artistic community; befriending

Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, known as the ''Goethe Tischbein'' (15 February 1751 in Haina – 26 February 1829 in Eutin), was a German painter from the Tischbein family of artists. Biography Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein was born on 15 ...

, who was touring Italy with

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

. Although grateful to Lavater for his continuing support, he felt trapped in Rome and his natural tendency to

hypochondria Hypochondriasis or hypochondria is a condition in which a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. An old concept, the meaning of hypochondria has repeatedly changed. It has been claimed that this debilitating cond ...

intensified. In 1789, thanks to a recommendation from Goethe, he was able to become a Professor at the

Weimar Princely Free Drawing School The Weimar Princely Free Drawing School (german: Fürstliche freie Zeichenschule Weimar) was an art and literature educational establishment. It was set up in 1776 in Weimar by the scholar and ducal private-secretary Friedrich Justin Bertuch (1747� ...

. While there, he illustrated works by Goethe and

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

and created portraits of numerous German creative artists and intellectuals. He quit his position five years later, following a rift with Goethe, and returned to Zürich. In 1796, he was married and, the following year, became a citizen there. During this time, he illustrated the complete works of

Christoph Martin Wieland Christoph Martin Wieland (; 5 September 1733 – 20 January 1813) was a German poet and writer. He is best-remembered for having written the first ''Bildungsroman'' (''Geschichte des Agathon''), as well as the epic ''Oberon'', which formed the ba ...

. After 1801, he was a regular participant in the exhibitions of the Zürcher Künstlergesellschaft (art society). He left a legacy of almost 1,500 engravings.

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Lips.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lips, Johann Heinrich 1758 births 1817 deaths Swiss engravers Swiss illustrators Swiss etchers People from Bülach District

Biography

References

Further reading

External links