Johann Rudolf Byss (1660–1738) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Biography

He was born in

Solothurn Solothurn ( ; ; ; ; ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissenstein Jura mountains. The town is ...

and first learned painting from his father Johann Joseph Byss, and later from

Johann Heinrich Roos Johann Heinrich Roos (29 September 1631, Otterberg – 3 October 1685, Frankfurt) was a German Baroque era landscape painter and etcher. Biography Roos was born in Otterberg, a town in the Palatinate in 1631. His family had emigrated to Amste ...

, whose sons he would have known well.Johann Rudolf Byss
in the

RKD The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: ), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in document ...

. Byss' most important works were done during his stay in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He traveled to Germany, England and the Netherlands in the 1680s to study. In 1689, he became court painter to Count Hermann Jakob Cern. Later that year, Byss married Maximiliana Wagner. Johann Rudolf Byss is credited with bringing the Netherlandish and Italian

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

styles to the art sphere in Prague. These influences are clearly present in his 1691 painting 'John of God' and in the 1692 'Vestal Claudia Quinta'. Johann Rudolf Byss obtained the citizenship of Prague in 1692. Two years later, he was inducted into the painters' guild, of which he later became master. He is known for religious works and flower still lifes, and his pupil was Johann Adalbert Angermeyer. Johann Rudolf Byss is also believed to be the teacher of the German painter

Johann Michael Bretschneider Johann Michael Bretschneider (1680–1729) was a German painter. Life Bretschneider was born at Aussig, in Bohemia. His parents were Wentzel and Ludmilla Bretschneider. His teacher is not assuredly known, but it is believed that he learned fr ...

(1680–1729). In 1713, he painted the ceiling fresco of the main staircase at ''

Schloss Weissenstein ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...

''. He later became the director of the gallery of paintings at that palace and in 1719 had the catalogue printed. This was the first printed German gallery catalogue.

References

External links

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A painting by ByssJohann Rudolf Byss
on

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17th-century Swiss painters Swiss male painters 18th-century Swiss painters 18th-century Swiss male artists 1660 births 1738 deaths People from Solothurn {{Switzerland-painter-stub