Born in Hoorn, Netherlands, Cornelis Cort established himself as a skilled engraver in the mid-16th century. He began his career in the Netherlands, working with publisher Hieronymus Cock, before relocating to Italy in the 1560s.

Cort is best known for his collaboration with Titian in Venice and his subsequent move to Rome, where he founded a school of engraving. His work is characterized by a sophisticated use of line and cross-hatching to translate the tonal qualities of paintings into black-and-white prints, significantly influencing the development of reproductive printmaking in Europe.

His legacy remains tied to his extensive body of engravings after Titian, Raphael, and Michelangelo, which served as a primary vehicle for the spread of Italian Mannerist and Renaissance styles across the continent.