Corneille de Lyon

Portrait of Henri II of France circa 1536

Corneille de Lyon (early 16th century, The Hague - buried 8 November 1575, Lyon ^[1]) was a Dutch painter of portraits who was active from 1533 until his death in Lyon, France. In France and the Netherlands he is still known as Corneille de La Haye after his birthplace, The Hague.

Although he is well documented as the leading painter in this distinctively French style, no single identifiable work can be documented as his, and distinguishing his hand from the many other artists working in the same style is extremely difficult, if not impossible - works tend to be attributed to him on grounds of quality alone.^[2]

Corneille's portraits are nearly miniature in scale, ranging from the size of a postcard to about 8" x 10". Corneille worked in oil paint on wood panels. The flesh areas are painted very thinly, while the greenish backgrounds are painted more thickly. Similarities with the work of Hans Holbein may point to the use of tracing frames by both painters. The Louvre in Paris and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art are both good places to study Corneille's work. Boston's Museum of Fine Arts has two fine examples, but they are rarely displayed.

References

1. ^ Corneille de la Haye at the Netherlands Institute for Art History
2. ^ Anthony Blunt, "Art and Architecture in France, 1500-1700", pp. 62-64, 2nd edn 1957, Penguin

External links

• Biography

Persondata
Name	De Lyon, Corneille
Alternative names
Short description	painter
Date of birth	early 16th century
Place of birth	The Hague
Date of death	buried 8 November 1575
Place of death	Lyon