Cornac is attested in medieval documents (charters referring to the place appear in the late 9th century) and developed as a fortified village clustered around its church; local lordships such as the Cornac and Giscard families feature in the medieval record and the settlement retained manorial and ecclesiastical ties through the Middle Ages and early modern period. The village experienced prosperity (notably in the 19th century with viticulture) and subsequent decline after phylloxera; archaeological and archival surveys note vestiges of a medieval enceinte, gates and several manor houses dating from the 13th–17th centuries.

Cornac hosts small-scale, community-led visual arts activity rather than permanent major museum collections; its most visible art presence is an annual or occasional open-air event called "L'Art et la Matière" that fills village streets and the former school atelier with photography, sculpture and collective creations.