A Life Between Borders The life of Johan Sylvius was defined by movement and the shifting light of European capitals. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, around 1620, he was a man of the continent, a painter whose presence was felt more in the studios of Italy and the halls of England than in his native land. His early years remain largely obscured by the fog of history, leaving only the suggestion of a possible German origin. He spent much of his maturity abroad, a wandering talent who sought the lessons of the masters in the heat of Rome. From 1658 to 1685, he established himself in the Italian cap…