Biography

Simon Frisius (also Simon Wynhoutsz. de Vries) was a Dutch printmaker and merchant. He started his career in Paris, and worked in Rouen and Amsterdam before moving to The Hague in 1611 where he became a member of the Confrerie Pictura. He travelled in France, Spain, Germany, Bohemia, and Russia.

Frisius is regarded as one of the first to bring etching to perfection. Abraham Bosse, in his treatise on the art of engraving, observes that the first artist to whom he was indebted for intelligence was Simon Frisius.