Maurits Monnickendam, born in Amsterdam, liked to paint cityscapes. He moved to The Hague and Rotterdam and lived in Germany for a number of years, but always returned to his beloved Mokum. Until he leaves for England in 1920. The painter was a member of Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam and exhibited in 1919 with the 'Onafhankelijken' in the Stedelijk Museum.