JANSEN, CORNELIUS, called Johnson, an eminent painter of portraits, was born at Amsterdam, though, in the Chronological Tables, and in Sandrart, it is asserted that he was born in London; but he resided for several years in England, where he was engaged in the service of King James I. and painted several excellent portraits of that monarch, as also of his children, and of the principal nobility of his court. He had not the freedom of hand, nor the grace, of Vandyck; but in other respects he was accounted his equal, and in the finishing of his pictures superior. His paintings are easily distinguished by their smooth, clear, and delicate tints, and by that character of truth and nature with which they are strongly marked. He generally painted on boards; and his draperies are for the most part black, probably because the opposition of that tint made his flesh colours appear more beautifully bright, especially in his female figures. He frequently painted in a small size in oil, and often copied his own works in that manner. His fame began to be somewhat obscured on the arrival of Vandyck in England; and the civil war breaking out some time afterwards, induced him to return to his own country, where his paintings were held in the highest esteem. He died in 1685.