Willem Johann Martensartist • painter • watercolourist • draughtsmanAmsterdam 1839-1895 Schöneberg (Duitsland)

Willem Johann Martens was born in Amsterdam in 1839, and received his first painting lessons from the famous history painter Nicolaas Pieneman. Martens’s oeuvre encompasses landscapes and church interiors as well as vivid portraits and genre scenes. On his travels he visited Berlin and also stayed in Rome, where he became a member of Gli Acquerellisti, an artists’ association. On his return, Martens focused increasingly on pictures of a type known as Italienne, featuring charming scenes of beautiful Italian women in traditional dress which were in great demand at the time.