Martinus Nefkens started working at a painting company at a young age. However, his artistic aspirations were higher and he enrolled at the Antwerp Drawing Academy. Later he also worked in the studio of the famous Hague School painter H.W. Mesdag. After settling in Amsterdam, Nefkens' career went uphill: he started selling and was admitted to the artists' societies Arti et Amicitiae and Sint-Lucasgilde. From 1898 Nefkens lived in Lunteren on the Veluwe in the summer. There he painted impressionist landscapes in the style of the Hague School, including many Veluwe scenes such as sheepfolds and sand drifts.