Johnson, Cornelius Syllabification: (John·son, Cornelius)Pronunciation: /ˈjänsən/ (also Jansens or Janssen van Ceulen)Definition of Johnson, Cornelius (1593-circa 1661), Dutch portrait painter; born in England. He painted for the court of Charles I; in 1643, after the outbreak of the English Civil War, he imigrated to Holland. Johnson, Cornelius in other Oxford dictionaries Definition of Johnson, Cornelius in the British & World English dictionary