Jean-Georges Cornélius (23 January 1880,Strasbourg - 3 June 1963,Ploubazlanec) was a French painter and illustrator.
Cornélius spent his childhood inAlsace but his family moved to Paris in 1895. There he became a student ofGustave Moreau, then ofLuc-Olivier Merson andGeorge Desvallières. He also met his wife there, the American Auria Moses, whom he married in 1917. Having volunteered in 1914, Cornélius became a nurse in a combat unit, where he served as a stretcher-bearer. He was wounded twice during the fighting and lost one of his eyes.[1][2] This conflict would leave a lasting mark on him,[3] and his style began exhibiting the influences ofSymbolism andGerman Expressionism.[4]
In 1929, he metGeorges Bernanos, who became a very close friend. He lived at times in Belgium, theBalearic Islands and Paris, frequently returning to the Breton property in Ploubazlanec that he bought in 1923.[5] At Bernanos's suggestion, he moved his family toBrazil in 1947, then toRome, before returning permanently to Brittany. His last exhibition was held inNantes in 1956.[3]
Cornélius produced work that was both mystical and allegorical. Between 1905 and 1913, he produced a large number of medieval-inspired illustrations for magazines and two books, including "La Chanson de Roland" in 1912. He also illustrated the poems ofBaudelaire andOscar Wilde.[3]
He defined himself as a Christian artist who "must not impress art critics but touch the passerby according to the good formula of the Middle Ages. Bring religious feeling and thought within the reach of the simplest in spirit and never show vanity. We need an interior art that acts spiritually towards everyone." Though raised aLutheran, he converted toCatholicism in 1931 at the Benedictine abbey ofMaredsous inBelgium.[6][2]
Forty-eight paintings and six drawings by Cornélius were donated by the artist's daughter the dancer Marie-Edith Cornélius to theEucharistic Museum of Hiéron in 2007, following a monographic exhibition of the painter. Some of his works are on display in the museum.[6][7]
Today his works are held by a dozen museums around France.[8] TheMusée de la Révolution française houses his paintingMarie-Antoinette and other work is held at the Musée des Beaux-Arts inPont-Aven,[9] thefr: Musée du Faouët.[10] and museums inBrest,Port Royal,Péronne,Colmar, andStrasbourg.[11]