Johann Heinrich Lips
Illustration — Self-portrait (date unknown) • Illustration — Portrait of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1791); used on several German postage stamps. Johann Heinrich Lips (29 April 1758, in Kloten – 5 May 1817, in Zürich) was a Swiss copper engraver; mostly of portraits.
Also recorded as H. Lips · J.H. Lips
Johann Heinrich Lips

Johann Heinrich Lips · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection · Public Domain Mark
- Born
- 1758 · Kloten.
- Died
- 1817 · Zurich.
- Nationality
- Switzerland
- Occupation
- copper engraver · draftsperson · painter · illustrator
- Fields
- portrait
- Teachers
- Johann Caspar Füssli · Johann Kaspar Lavater
- Languages
- German
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Illustration — Self-portrait (date unknown) • Illustration — Portrait of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1791); used on several German postage stamps. Johann Heinrich Lips (29 April 1758, in Kloten – 5 May 1817, in Zürich) was a Swiss copper engraver; mostly of portraits.
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Note VALÉORINE
Johann Heinrich Lips (1758–1817) was a copper engraver, draftsperson and illustrator, among other activities, of Swiss nationality. The copper engraver was born in Kloten and died in Zurich. Johann Heinrich Lips worked in Düsseldorf, Mannheim and Naples, among others.
The work spans portrait. Languages used include German. Works are held at Art Institute of Chicago, Art Museum of Estonia and National Portrait Gallery, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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Authority files
gnd · 1091352313 · wikidata · Q1384162 · wikipedia · Johann Heinrich Lips
In this article
Biography
Biography
Training under Johann Caspar Füssli and Johann Kaspar Lavater is recorded. Samuel Amsler is recorded as having studied under Johann Heinrich Lips. The recorded working language is German. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are portrait. Places of work recorded in the authority are Mannheim, Düsseldorf and Rome. Work by Johann Heinrich Lips is recorded in the collections of Art Museum of Estonia, Art Institute of Chicago, Städel Museum, National Portrait Gallery and Yale Center for British Art.
His father was the village surgeon and barber. His Latin teacher, the local pastor, introduced him to Johann Caspar Lavater 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. Later, he was also able to obtain a position with the etcher, Johann Rudolf Schellenberg, in Winterthur. 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 on physiognomy. Following that, he briefly worked with Johann Caspar's son, Johann Heinrich Füssli, better known as Henry Fuseli. From 1780 to 1782, with financial assistance, he made a study tour of Germany which included time at the Drawing Academy in Mannheim and a visit to Düsseldorf, where he discovered the works of Anthony van Dyck. From 1782 to 1789, he spent much of his time in Rome, where he became part of the German artistic community; befriending Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, who was touring Italy with Goethe. Although grateful to Lavater for his continuing support, he felt trapped in Rome and his natural tendency to hypochondria intensified. In 1789, thanks to a recommendation from Goethe, he was able to become a Professor at the Weimar Princely Free Drawing School. While there, he illustrated works by Goethe and Friedrich Schiller 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. 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.
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.

Johann Caspar
Johann Heinrich Lips · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection

Johann Caspar Lavater. Aquatint by J. H. Lips., by Johann Heinrich Lips
Johann Heinrich Lips · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Kloten.
Birth place
Zurich.
Death place
Collections and holdings
Where the work is held
Collections and holdings
Institutional holdings are recorded as follows.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Johann Heinrich Lips”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 1091352313, Johann Heinrich Lips, 1758-1817 (1989 : Coburg).
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1384162: Johann Heinrich Lips
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Nicole Beyer.
- 2.Matthias Oberli.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
- Joachim Kruse: Johann Heinrich Lips 1758–1817 – Ein Zürcher Kupferstecher zwischen Lavater und Goethe. Coburg 1989.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 1091352313, Johann Heinrich Lips, 1758-1817 (1989 : Coburg).Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessauthority record
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Illustration
5,224 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Johann Baptist ZweckerIllustrator
- Johann Erdmann HummelIllustrator
- Johann Eusebius VoetIllustrator
- Johann Friedrich OverbeckIllustrator
- Johann Jacob DilleniusIllustrator
- Johann Kaspar LavaterIllustrator
- Johann Michael Siegfried LöweIllustrator
- Johann Nepomuk SchönbergIllustrator
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