Cornelius, an Artist in Tepoztlán
"Photography helps me to understand, to see, to be present, to be extremely excited." --Cornelius Bantlin
Cornelius was born in Germany in 1962. Here we tell of his life development and struggles. And how he survived them, gravitating towards realism, painting from photographs. His life spans many interests and careers, some athletic, but mostly visual creativity.
His mother was an architect and an accomplished artist, introducing her son to the world of classically prominent masters. This hung over him like a cloak, and he had a strong desire to emulate those masters from an early age. Unfortunately his mother died when he was at the tender age of 13. He was grief stricken, and this pain has never left him.
Growing up in a boarding school was difficult, as each of his teachers had to contend with hundreds of children. He had no parents in his daily life.
When he was older, he was considering ending his life. He traveled to India, and met a Mexican woman, Alejandra, there. They fell in love and continued for several years in a relationship, traveling around the world before landing in Mexico City. Ale's brother had a house in Tepoztlán, and when he moved back to Mexico City, he suggested that Cornelius move there.
This was in 2017, the same year that Cornelius developed an unshakable intention to teach himself to paint. He never attended classes or workshops--he was completely self-taught, with his passion as his guide and inspiration.
Over the years, he tried to succeed in many different professions, carpentry, healing, mountain climbing, wind-surfing, and even aspired to enter the Tour de France.
More recently, besides his painting, he has captured over 6,000 photos from around the world, self-publishing two extraordinary coffee-table sized books. Here is his website. He occasionally gets work modeling through an agent in Mexico City. He also told me he had a good time as an actor in three different movies--two shot in Tulum, Mexico, and the other one with a New York City company that had an endearing Chinese director.
In Tepoztlán, he struggled for many years in dire poverty, often not able to afford food. His father died March 15, 2024. After that, his first ex-wife told him that he now was free, and that she would send him money when needed. Cornelius told me that she is very wealthy. This unburdened his life so that now Cornelius paints every day with no worries about money.
Cornelius's home is very modest, located in a woodsy area near flowing water. It is a studio apartment with one room, a hall, and bathroom.
Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. The home of Cornelius, top left: hallway, top right: book shelves, bottom: the house with his apartment on left of the first floor.
Cornelius tells me his themes are inspired by photos with anomalous juxtapositions of disparate elements. He looks for photos that show very clear images that have truly confusing content. He paints on cotton fabric mounted on 3 mm fiber board (200 cm X 140 cm) using acrylic paint. Here is a sampling of his paintings.
The goal of his work is to render as clearly as possible a painting from a photo with confusing content. He told me that he loses himself completely while painting, to the degree that another force takes over. He believes that this cannot be developed. It is a gift.
Here are two video interviews of Cornelius. The first is about his life, and the second about this art. Of course these two intertwine.
Cornelius would love to hear from you! I posted his site above. Here is his phone number (WhatsApp) in Mexico: +52 777 441 9241
NOTE: If you want to meet creative people like Cornelius, and many others, come visit us in Tepoztlán.
