The Master of Light and Line: The Life of Cornelis Cels In the grand tapestry of nineteenth-century Flemish art, few threads are woven as delicately as those left by Cornelis Cels. Born in 1778 in the historic town of Lier, Belgium, Cels emerged from a prominent local family to become a painter whose work bridged the gap between the structured elegance of the past and the emotive, atmospheric sensibilities of the Romantic era. His jou…