Theodor Martens
Encyclopedia
Theodor Martens was a 19th century German artist
.
Martens was born in Wismar
, Germany
. he had nine children. He resided in Düsseldorf
, Paris
, Hamburg
, Schwerin
and Portici, in addition to Wismar. Martens worked as a merchant
until age 40 when he took up art as his full time vocation. Martens studied with Webers in Düsseldorf and Lambinet in Paris.
His work was especially influenced by the Barbizon school
masters such as Corot, Daubigny
and Diaz
. In 1874 he received a silver medal during a show at the London Crystal Palace
. He died from cholera
in Portici, Italy
, aged 62.
His paintings are in a realistic
style that anticipates the impressionists
to follow. Many landscape
s and architectural
subjects are included in his work. His works were considered very modern by contemporaries. Many examples of his work may be found today at the Schwerin State Art Museum in Schwerin, Germany and in the Schwerin Castle
located in that northern German city.
A painting by Martens was sold July 6 2004 at auction at Bonhams
in London for $790 (US) it was a 27.5 by 35 centimeter oil titled "A river at dusk", the auction report did not disclose a date for the painting.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
.
Martens was born in Wismar
Wismar
Wismar , is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory. The...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. he had nine children. He resided in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Schwerin
Schwerin
Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
and Portici, in addition to Wismar. Martens worked as a merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
until age 40 when he took up art as his full time vocation. Martens studied with Webers in Düsseldorf and Lambinet in Paris.
His work was especially influenced by the Barbizon school
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
masters such as Corot, Daubigny
Charles-François Daubigny
Charles-François Daubigny was one of the painters of the Barbizon school, and is considered an important precursor of Impressionism....
and Diaz
Narcisse Virgilio Díaz
Narcisse Virgilio Díaz de la Peña was a French painter of the Barbizon school.Diaz was born in Bordeaux to Spanish parents. At the age of ten, Diaz became an orphan, and misfortune dogged his early years. His foot was bitten by a reptile in Meudon wood, near Sèvres, where he had been taken to live...
. In 1874 he received a silver medal during a show at the London Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
. He died from cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
in Portici, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, aged 62.
His paintings are in a realistic
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
style that anticipates the impressionists
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
to follow. Many landscape
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
s and architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
subjects are included in his work. His works were considered very modern by contemporaries. Many examples of his work may be found today at the Schwerin State Art Museum in Schwerin, Germany and in the Schwerin Castle
Schwerin Castle
Schwerin Castle is a castle located in the city of Schwerin, the capital of the Bundesland of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. For centuries it was the home of the dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg and later Mecklenburg-Schwerin. It currently serves as the seat of the state...
located in that northern German city.
A painting by Martens was sold July 6 2004 at auction at Bonhams
Bonhams
Bonhams is a privately owned British auction house founded in 1793. It is the third largest auctioneer after Sotheby's and Christie's, and conducts around 700 auctions per year. It has 700 employees....
in London for $790 (US) it was a 27.5 by 35 centimeter oil titled "A river at dusk", the auction report did not disclose a date for the painting.