Cornelius Janssen (baptized 10/14/1593 in London, died 8/5/1664 in Utrecht, Netherlands). Also known as Cornelis Johnson Van Ceulen, or Van Keulen, Jonson, or Janson. Cornelius' parents were Flemish refugees. He was considered the most important native English, Baroque portraitist of the early 17th century.

(LR) Mrs Fleetwood, formerly Mrs Ireton (Bridget Cromwell) eldest daughter of Oliver Cromwell.
        Unknown man painted in 1636.
        Portrait of a sculptor; possibly Cornelius' son.


Janssen seldom painted anything except oval bust portraits. These pictures are distinguished for their sensitive rendering of the sitter's likeness and their delicate and deft technique. He generally painted on wood panels in a small scale, sometimes producing replicas of his larger works. He is weakest in his flesh-tones, which are pallid, the shadows being a lifeless gray. His portraits show the influence of Van Dyck, with whom he worked at the court of Charles I and James I. Cornelius seems to have lost his popularity with the court when Van Dyck came to England in 1632. He left England in 1643, after painting there since 1618.

(LR) This unidentified gentleman wears the crimson sash of the Order of the Bath. Painted by C. J. in 1629.
        This painting is only identified as "Portrait of a gentleman".
        Portrait of Susanna Temple, Later Lady Lister 1620, oil on wood.

        Susanna was the only daughter of Sir Alexander Temple of Etchingham, Sussex.
        The martlet (a heraldic bird) in her earring is part of the Temple coat of arms.
        Her first husband, Sir Gifford Thornhurst, was to die in 1627.
        In 1636 she married Sir Martin Lister of Thorpe Arnold, Leicestershire.

Sir Dudley Digges (1583-1639) was a Member of Parliament who also was a "Virginia adventurer," an investor who ventured or risked his capital in the Virginia enterprise. Those who actually went to Virginia were called "planters," one of whom was Digges's son Edward. The portrait was painted by Cornelius Janssen in 1636. ©Data from Virginia Historical Society.

Cornelius lived in Amsterdam after he left England. He painted in Middelburg, The Hague, and finally Utrecht. After his return to Holland he improved greatly under Rembrandt's influence.

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