Georg von Dillis
1759-1841
Born on 26 December 1759 in Grüngiebing in Bavaria, Germany, Dillis received a scientific education at a grammar school when he was only six years old. As the eldest of 11 children, he owed this privilege to his godfather, Elector Maximilian III Joseph of Bavaria. Already at a young age, his artistic talent became apparent, but penniless after the death of his patron he studied philosophy and theology instead. In 1782, he was ordained as a secular priest and thereupon devoted himself again to the art of drawing, later to landscape and portrait painting. Since he also gave lessons in drawing, he became acquainted with distinguished families.
During his several travels, he produced numerous watercolour paintings of the Bavarian mountains and the surrounding area. Dillis became of special importance for Munich painting. With a dexterous technique, he translated his meticulous study of nature into the picture. In this way, he cast off the eclecticism of the late Rococo and found his way to a new naturalism. His special strength was drawing. His works already foreshadow the atmospheric landscapes he would later paint in Munich.
Dillis always paid homage to his homeland in his paintings and died in Munich on 28 September 1841.
