(b Antwerp c. 1510; d between April 1556 and Jan 1557). Painter, draughtsman and engraver, son of (1) Quinten Metsys. Like his elder brother (2) Jan Massys, Cornelis was admitted to the Guild of St Luke in Antwerp in 1532, before reaching the age of majority. It is unlikely that he ever worked with his father or brother. Cornelis signed his works with three different monograms. Only one panel has survived bearing his first monogram COR. MET, used from 1537 to 1539: the Return of the Prodigal Son (1538; Amsterdam, Rijksmus.). In it Cornelis emerges as a fine painter of imaginary landscapes in the manner of Joachim Patinir, but the figures are less successful and the composition somewhat stiff. No drawings are known from this first period, perhaps because his View of Brussels (Berlin, Kupferstichkab.), though bearing a false date, 1522 (added later), was actually produced c. 1540. He apparently did, however, learn to engrave during this period, probably c. 1537. Initially he copied Italian models such as engravings and etchings by Marcantonio Raimondi and Parmigianino and a tapestry design by Raphael, but he also showed an interest in the prints of the German Little Masters, for instance in his series the Dancing Cripples (1538; Hollstein, nos 138–49), although he never copied them.

Part of the Metsys family

• Massys, Cornelis
  • Belgium, §III, 2(i): Panel, wall and glass painting, 1400–c 1550
  • Belgium, §III, 2(iii): Graphic arts, 1400–c 1550
  • Ladenspelder, Johann
  • Metsys
  • reproductive prints by others
    • Huys: (2) Frans Huys
  • teachers
    • Metsys: (1) Quinten Metsys, §1: Life
  • works
    • Dress, §V, 2(iii): Northern Europe, 1501–1600
    • Landscape painting, §II, 4(ii): 16th century: The Netherlands
    • Tudor: (2) Henry VIII, King of England