Page:Bryan's dictionary of painters and engravers, volume 1.djvu/510

 nelius distinguislied himself by his faithful adher- ence to it for a length of time. And yet all who would essay to reconcile his particular principles with those of Winckelmann — who would endeavour to place him in opposition to Gothe, — who would pronounce him too exclusively under the influence of tlie revival of medireval religious art, and op- posed to the study of models and an imitation of nature ; — in short, all who would seek to discover in Cornelius a constant system, are altogether ignorant of the force of the original genius by which he was continually swaj'ed. He was, how- ever, the fellow-labourer with Overbeck in the artistic movement which too much repudiated the charms of colour, and made fresco once mora adopted. The first important works of his youth were the decorations of the church of Neuss, an attentive examination of which declares a study of the works of RafEaelle. At the age of twenty-six he produced his compositions from Faust, after which, in 1811, he went to Rome, where he became one of the brotherhood of painters, amongst whom was Overbeck, whose particular friend he was, in- somuch that the King of Bavaria associated them in a comparison to St. John and St. Paul. They dwelt together in an old convent, labouring from morning to night, with a mutual understanding that each should pronounce in sincerity on the produc- tions of the other. Cornelius was one of those artists engaged in the decoration of the Villa Bartoldi, and at the same time was busied in his illustrations of the Nibelungenlied. From Rome he was called to Diisseldorf to remodel the Academy, and to Munich to take the direction of the frescoes which the then Prince Royal of Bavaria had pro- jected for the Glyptothek. Thus divided between Diisseldorf — where he held the appointment of Director of the Academy — and Munich, where he was charged with the execution of many works, he resigned his appointment in the former city, to devote himself exclusively, with those of his pupils who thought fit to accompany him, to his commis- sions at Munich, of the Academy at which place he was appointed Director on the death of Sanger. It is from this period may be dated the immense activity in the arts in Munich under the reign of King Ludwig. Of this movement Cornelius was the prime mover — as the head of the school ; and from Munich his reputation extended throughout Europe. It would be vain to attempt a Catalogue Raisonn^e of his great works in that city ; it must sufBce to indicate the leading features of the prin- cipal. In the Glyptothek he decorated two large halls, one called the 'Hall of Heroes,' the other the ' Hall of the Gods,' with frescoes based upon the heathen mythology, and painted according to the genius of the antique. In the Pinakothek he painted a great work illusfrntive of the ' History of Painting,' and even whilst occupied with these he found time to decorate the Ludwigs-Kirche with four large frescoes — 'God the Father,' 'The Na- tivity,' 'The Crucifixion,' and 'The Last Judgment,' the last of which measures 62 feet high, by 38 wide. About 1847 Frederick William IV. of Prussia invited Cornelius to Berlin, where he gave him a commission to decorate the Campo Santo, or Royal Mausoleum, destined to form one of the wings of the new cathedral, the building of which was commenced some years ago. His designs for this purpose possessed grandeur and originality, surpassing in daring all that the master had here- tofore produced, 'The Four Knights of the Apoca- lypse' being especially noticed in this respect, these have been engraved by Thater, and published at Leipsic, in 1848. During his sojourn at Berlin the King of Prussia took the opportunity to get Cornelius to make the design for the silver shield intended as a present for his godchild, the Prince of Wales, and which will be remembered as ar, attractive object at the great Exhibition of 1851 Reviewing the varied works of this great master, we find that the Old Testament, Homer, Gothe, Dante, the Nibelungen, the German Troubadours, and the New Testament, have all in turn supplied him subject matter. The heroic is most in accordance with his natural disposition ; he is, however, not insensible to grace, and has expressed the tender sentiments with the utmost felicity. Most of his paintings at Munich have been engraved by Amsler, EberU, Schoeffer, &c. When the employment of historical painters was determined upon for the decoration of our New Houses of Parliament, Cor- nelius was invited to this country and advised the adoption of fresco painting, an unfortunate advice, our climate being considered. He died in Berlin on the 6th March, 1867.

Herr Forster has published ' Peter von Cornelius. Ein Gedenkbuch aus seinem Leben und Wirken,' Berlin, 1874, 8vo, 2 vols. W.B.S.

CORNER, John, a line-engraver, published in 1825 an interesting series of twenty-five ' Portraits of Celebrated Painters,' beneath each of which is a small medallion containing the artist's most celebrated work.

CORNISH, —. This name is affixed to a slightly etched portrait of Dr. Charles Rose, a Scotch clergyman. It was probably the work of an amateur, who was a member of the University of Oxford, as it is inscribed Cornish, Oxon.

CORNU, S^BASTiEN Melchiob, a French historical painter, was born at Lyons in 1804. He first studied under Richard and Bonnefond, and then went to Paris and entered the studio of Ingres. There are by him at Versailles the ' Surrender of Ascalon to Baldwin III.," and the 'Battle of Oued- Halleg. He continued the decorative works at St. Germain-des-Pres after the death of Flandrin, and died at Longpont (Seine-et-Oise) in 1870.

CORONA, Jacob Lucius, called Jacob Lucina VON Cronstadt, and also the Master of the Key, a wood-engraver who lived in the 16th century, was a native of Cronstadt in Transylvania. He executed many wood-cuts after the designs of Lucas Cranach, and in 1564 removed from Witten- berg to Rostock, where he engraved on wood in 1578, after the court painter Cornelius Cromeny, the ' Genealogical Tree of the Dukes of Mecklen- burg.' His wood-cuts are also to be found in the Wittenberg Bible of 1572, although dated 1558. His prints are signed J. L. C. T. (Jacobus Lucius Corona Transylvanus), sometimes Jacob Sieben- biirgen, or with one or, other of the following monograms :

CORONA, Leonardo, the son of a miniature painter, was born at Murano in 1561, and, according to Ridolfi, was first instructed by Rocca da San Silvestro, a painter of little note, who employed him in copying ; but he afterwards improved himself by studying the works of Titian and Tintoretto. He also derived the greatest benefit from his acquaintance with Alessandro Vittoria, an eminent sculptor, who, Lanzi says, gave him chalk