Gottfried Wals

He wandered about through numerous Italian cities, including Naples and Genoa; arriving in Rome around 1615.

There, he became an assistant to Agostino Tassi, a harsh master who attacked him with blows from a club and was briefly imprisoned in 1616, when Wals filed a complaint.

The following year, he lived with the newly arrived Massimo Stanzione, in the Roman quarter of Trastevere.

His interest in composition and lighting is very marked and often bears resemblance to the works of Filippo Napoletano, who was in turn a follower of Adam Elsheimer.

In comparison, it is known that, in 1634, the Belgian-born merchant, Gaspard De Roomer (c.1600–1674) of Naples, owned sixty of his landscapes and fourteen drawings.