The Amsterdammer Coen Greive became best known as a painter of marines and Amsterdam cityscapes. Born in an artistic family, he received lessons from his uncle P.F. Greive from a young age and then the cityscape painter Cornelis Springer. He loved the water, and as a 20-year-old boy he is already painting on the banks of the IJ and in Zeeland. When he is 23 years old, Greive sells his first painting to the collector Fodor. In addition, he produced topographical prints commissioned by the then famous art dealer Frans Buffa.