Colour Sellers Part II: L. Cornelissen & Son

The closest thing one might find to the Venetian Vendecolori today are shops such as L. Cornelissen and Son in London.

The specialist art supplier was founded by Louis Dieudonné Cornelissen in the mid 19th century and, aside from a two year hiatus in the late 1970s, has been in business ever since. Its current premises at 105 Great Russell Street in central London are a window into another era of commerce and craftsmanship. Rows of shallow drawers and open shelves reach to the ceiling and bear rows of glass jars filled with powdered pigments.

Louis D. Cornelissen was born in Paris around 1820, likely to Belgian parents. His mother, Colette, is recorded as born in Belgium and the patronymic surname “Cornelissen” is associated with Belgium. Louis married Marian, from England, but they lived in Paris for several years and had two daughters while living there, Alexandrine (b. 1844) and Marie (b. 1851). At some point in the early 1850s the family (including Colette) moved to London and Louis established himself as a dealer in lithography supplies. A son, Louis, was born in London in 1856 and by 1861 the family was living at 22 Great Queen Street in the West End and Louis was working as a “colour agent”. The Cornelissen shop at this premises would continue until 1987 and be run by three generations of the family.

Great Queen Street at this time was home to several artisans and craftspeople. The 1861 census shows that the Cornelissen family lived and worked alongside musical instrument makers, printers, jewel case makers, and milliners. Just like the Vendecolori, London “colourmen” thrived on doing business with a wide ranging clientele and were part of an international trade network. Shop ledgers from the 1880s and 90s show that, as well as buying from British manufacturers like Windsor and Newton, Cornelissen sourced many products from France or elsewhere on the continent. Canvases and specialist papers were ordered from Paris and Vienna, colours from the company of Dr. Franz Schönfeld in Düsseldorf and gold and metal leaf from a supplier in Berlin. One can imagine Louis Cornelissen making his name as the Parisian shopkeeper plying the finest wares from the great capitals of Europe.

While the younger Louis Cornelissen entered into business with his father, his sister Marie would make a name for herself as a painter. Growing up surrounded by pigments and supplies and interacting with artist customers likely provided Marie with plenty of inspiration as well as technical know-how. She studied at St Martin’s School of Art (eventually to merge with other institutions and become Central St Martin’s) and the Royal Academy. Her talent was celebrated while at St Martin’s where she won first prize at the school’s sketching club at least once, in 1872. In 1877 one of her paintings was exhibited in the Royal Academy and in the same year she married fellow student John Seymour Lucas. Her spouse came from a family of artists and is remembered for his portraits and historical paintings. Now as Marie Seymour Lucas, her career continued with pace; she worked on historical paintings, portraits and particularly domestic scenes featuring children as subjects. Her work was exhibited in the 1893 Chicago World Fair and in 1905 her painting captioned “We Are But Little Children Weak, Nor Born To Any High Estate” was included in a book entitled Women Artists of the World.

Marie Seymour Lucas, We Are But Little Children Weak, Nor Born to Any High Estate, pre-1905.