Ernst Schiess was a Swiss Artist. His work includes paintings, drawings, pencil drawings, linocuts and watercolors.

Ernst Schiess was a son of the senior physician and professor of ophthalmology Heinrich Schiess (1833–1914) and Raisine, née Gemuseus. His nephew was the painter Hans Rudolf Schiess. Schiess completed a commercial apprenticeship in the bank of Friedrich Riggenbach (1821–1904).

From 1893 he worked as a merchant in Barcelona for a year. In 1894 he emigrated to Mexico. He subsequently worked as a tradesman in Progreso. He then founded an import company for mining and agricultural machinery in Torreón with two business partners. In 1900, Schiess became critically ill with typhoid fever. A short time later he suffered a riding accident that resulted in blood poisoning. In 1902 he was involved in a shooting accident that resulted in legal consequences for him. Schiess subsequently fled to Basel and returned to Torreón after his acquittal. In 1903 he joined the company Schiess & Co. back.

From 1903 to 1905, Schiess stayed in Rome to study painting and was a student of the landscape painter Franz Theodor Aerni. He continued his studies from 1905 to 1907 at the Dresden Art Academy. There he was a master student of Eugen Bracht, who gave him decisive support. From 1908 to 1912, Schiess worked during the winter months in his studio in Paris. Claude Monet, Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard influenced his artistic work.