Cornelis Floris or Cornelis (II) Floris De Vriendt (c. 1514 – 20 October 1575) was a Flemish sculptor, architect, draughtsman, medallist and designer of prints and luxury. He operated a large workshop in Antwerp from which he worked on many large construction projects in Flanders, Germany and Denmark. He was one of the designers of the Antwerp City Hall. He developed a new style, which was informed by Flemish traditions, the 16th century Italian Renaissance and possibly the School of Fontainebleau. His innovations spread throughout Northern Europe where they had a major influence on the development of sculpture and architecture in the 16th and early 17th centuries.

Cornelis Floris II was born around the year 1514 as the eldest of the four sons of Cornelis the Elder and Margarita Goos. The earliest known ancestors of the Floris de Vriendt family, then still called only 'de Vriendt', were residents of Brussels where they practiced the craft of stonemason and stonecutter which was passed on from father to son. One of Cornelis' ancestors became in 1406 a master of the Brussels stonemasons guild. A family member, Jan Florisz. (abbreviation of Floriszoon, meaning son of Floris) de Vriendt, left his native Brussels and settled in Antwerp in the mid 15th century. The patronymic name 'Floris' became the common family name of the subsequent generations. The original form 'de Vriendt' can, however, still be found in official documents until the late 16th century.

Little is known about his training. He probably worked in the workshop of his father who was a stonemason. He traveled abroad and was reportedly in Italy when his father died in 1538. He then returned to Antwerp to take care of his mother and younger brothers. In 1539, he became a master in the local Guild of Saint Luke. He served as the dean of the Guild in 1547 and 1559. At around 1540, the guild register was embellished with grotesque initials which were signed by Cornelis. These grotesque motives, that were inspired by Italian contemporary models which in turn were based on archeological finds in Rome, would become an important characteristic of the Floris style and were used by him (as well as his brother Frans) in his other works.

A hypothesis put forward in 2021 and explained in 2024 stating that the famous Roman drawings in the two Berlin scrapbooks were not executed by the Dutch painter Maarten van Heemskerck and the Anonimi A and B, but with a few exceptions entirely by Floris and dated between 1535/36 and 1538, was not taken up by archaeological and art-historical research and was refuted by several contributions to the Berlin exhibition catalog “The Allure of Rome. Maarten van Heemskerck draws the city."

In 1550, Floris married Elisabeth Machiels and bought a house in Antwerp that he renovated in his own style.

Cornelis Floris II died on 20 October 1575 after a rich career. At the beginning of his career, the renaissance was just starting to appear in the Netherlands. By the time he died, the new style was firmly established in the Netherlands. This was, however, not a simple copy of the Italian example as artists like Floris had imbued the style with homegrown sensibility.

Cornelis' brothers also became excellent artists. The most famous one is Frans, who was one of the leading Flemish mannerist painters while Jacob was a painter of stained-glass windows and Jan was a potter.

Cornelis had many pupils, a number of whom became established artists in their own right. They included Willem van den Blocke, Gert van Egen, Gillis de Witte, Philip Brandin, Robert Coppens, Heinrich Hagart, and Hieronymus van Kessel (I).