Van der Lisse was born in The Hague. He lived in Utrecht from 1626, alternating between Utrecht and The Hague between 1635 and 1640, and finally settling in The Hague permanently. He studied with Cornelis van Poelenburch. His early paintings were frequently landscapes with nymphs, coming close to the style his master used around 1630, and even sometimes being mistaken for Van Poelenburch's at auctions. However, many displayed a distinctive style, which consisted of emptier, more horizontal compositions. In 1635 the Stadholder, Prince Frederik Hendrik of Orange Nassau, commissioned him, along with van Poelenburch, Abraham Bloemaert and Herman Saftleven, to paint a cycle of scenes based on Giovanni Battista Guarini’s Il pastor fido for the restored hunting castle at Honselaarsdijk. Later in life, he became involved in guild and municipal politics in The Hague. He was one of the founders of the Confrerie Pictura in 1656, and served as mayor of The Hague several times from 1659 to his death there in 1669. He probably did not paint much in this latter ten years of his life.