Conrad Martens
Conrad Martens ( * 1801 in London, † August 21, 1878 in Sydney, Australia) was an English painter. From late November 1833 to the end of July he participated in the second survey voyage of HMS Beagle part, which is also accompanied Charles Darwin.
Life and work
Conrad Martens was a son of the Hamburg businessman JCH Martens, who had settled in London, and the English wife Rebecca. He had two brothers who were also artists, and a sister. Martens was taught by Copley Fielding in landscape painting. After the death of his father in 1816 the family moved to Exeter.
On 19 May 1833 he left aboard the under the command of Francis Price Blackwood ( 1809-1854 ) standing HMS Hyacinth the port of Falmouth and landed on 5 July in Rio de Janeiro. Two weeks later, on July 18, he sailed to the Indus continues to Montevideo, where he arrived on August 2. There he heard that Captain Robert FitzRoy of the HMS Beagle looking for a new ship painter. Augustus Earle, who has held this position could, due to health problems, a trip on the HMS Beagle not continue. On November 25, 1833 Martens went on board and the ship left after eight months on July 23, 1834 in Valparaíso again. During this time he was responsible among other things, in Puerto Deseado and Puerto Hambre, Tierra del Fuego and on the Falkland Islands and Chiloe.
After a few months stay Martens Valparaíso left on December 3, 1834 towards Tahiti, where he arrived in early January 1835. Already on March 8, 1835 his journey took him on to the Bay of Islands, a part of the coast of New Zealand's North Island. Here he remained a short time and sailed to Sydney on April 9. On April 17, 1835, he arrived in Port Jackson, where his nearly two -year journey was over.
In Sydney Martens was first settled in the Cumberland Street and taught in his studio in the Pitt Street painting. When the H.M.S. Beagle in January 1836 reached Australia, he was visited by Darwin and FitzRoy. Darwin acquired for three guineas from him the two watercolors View Ponsonby Sound (now under the title of The Beagle in Murray Narrow, Beagle Channel known) and Santa Cruz River. In 1862, Darwin Martens still paid the picture View of Brisbane.
In 1837 he married Jane Brackenbury Carter, with whom he had two daughters. A 1844 born son died during childhood. In the year of birth of the son, the family built a house in St Leonards. In 1846 he was head of the municipality of St. Thomas Church in St. Leonards. Martens signed on behalf of the wealthy landowners whose homes and possessions. One of his favorite subjects was the port of Sydney. He drew landscapes on the south coast of New South Wales, in Bong Bong, Lithgow, Scone, Walcha and New England. Several times he visited Brisbane and in 1851 undertook an extensive tour of Darling Downs.
The aging Martens found in 1863 by referring a friend a job as Parlamentsbiblothekar. Conrad Martens died on August 21, 1878, was buried in the churchyard of St. Thomas in St. Leonards.
Collections
The Mitchell Library in Sydney has an extensive collection of Martens watercolors and oil paintings. More are in the Dixson Galleries of the Public Library of New South Wales and the National Art Galleries of New South Wales and Victoria.
Works (selection)
- Sketches in the Environs of Sydney. C. Martens, Sydney 1850-20 hand-colored lithographs, published in 5 parts
- View Ponsonby Sound, today under the title The Beagle in Murray Narrow, Beagle Channel known
- River Santa Cruz
- View of Brisbane