Conrad Martens

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Photo portrait of Conrad Martens from the last years of his life.

Conrad Martens (* 1801 in London , † August 21, 1878 in Sydney , Australia ) was an English painter. From the end of November 1833 to the end of July he took part in the second survey trip of the HMS Beagle , which also accompanied Charles Darwin .

Live and act

Conrad Martens was the son of the Hamburg merchant JCH Martens, who had settled in London, and his English wife Rebecca. He had two brothers who also became artists, and a sister. Martens was tutored in landscape painting by Copley Fielding . After their father's death, the family moved to Exeter in 1816 .

On May 19, 1833 he left the port of Falmouth on board the HMS Hyacinth under the command of Francis Price Blackwood (1809-1854) and landed on July 5 in Rio de Janeiro . Two weeks later, on July 18th, he sailed on the Indus to Montevideo , where he arrived on August 2nd. There he heard that the captain Robert FitzRoy of the HMS Beagle was looking for a new ship painter. Augustus Earle , who previously held this position, was unable to continue the journey with the HMS Beagle due to health problems . On November 25, 1833 Martens went on board and left the ship after eight months on July 23, 1834 in Valparaíso . During this time he drew in Puerto Deseado and Puerto del Hambre , Tierra del Fuego as well as on the Falkland Islands and Chiloé .

After a few months' stay, Martens left Valparaíso on December 3, 1834 for Tahiti , where he arrived at the beginning of January 1835. On March 8, 1835, his journey took him to the Bay of Islands , a stretch of coast on New Zealand's North Island . Here, too, he stayed only briefly and sailed for Sydney on April 9th . On April 17, 1835, he arrived in Port Jackson , where his almost two-year journey came to an end.

The watercolor The Beagle in Murray Narrow, Beagle Channel was acquired by Charles Darwin in 1836.

In Sydney, Martens first settled in Cumberland Street and taught painting in his studio in Pitt Street. When the HMS Beagle reached Australia in January 1836, Darwin and FitzRoy visited him. Darwin bought the two watercolors View Ponsonby Sound (now known as The Beagle in Murray Narrow, Beagle Channel ) and River Santa Cruz for three guineas each . In 1862 Darwin received the picture View of Brisbane from Martens .

In 1837 he married Jane Brackenbury Carter, with whom he had two daughters. A son born in 1844 died in childhood. In the year their son was born, the family built a house in St. Leonards . In 1846 he became parish chairman of St. Thomas Church in St. Leonards. Martens drew their houses and properties on behalf of the wealthy landowners. One of his favorite subjects was Sydney Harbor. He drew landscapes on the south coast of New South Wales , in Bong Bong , Lithgow , Scone , Walcha and New England . He visited Brisbane several times and in 1851 went on an extensive tour of Darling Downs .

The aging Martens found a job as parliamentary librarian in 1863 through the mediation of a friend. Conrad Martens died on August 21, 1878 and was buried in the cemetery of St. Thomas Church in St. Leonards.

Collections

The Mitchell Library in Sydney has an extensive collection of Martens watercolors and oil paintings. Others 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. Sydney 1850 - 20 hand-colored lithographs, published in 5 parts
  • View Ponsonby Sound. today titled The Beagle in Murray Narrow, Beagle Channel. known
  • River Santa Cruz.
  • View of Brisbane.

proof

literature

  • Douglas Dundas: Martens, Conrad (1801-1878). In: Australian Dictionary of Biography. Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp. 212-213. (on-line)
  • Introduction. In: RD Keynes: The Beagle Record: Selections from the Original Pictorial Records and Written Accounts of the Voyage of HMS Beagle . CUP Archives, 1979, ISBN 0-521-21822-5 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Keynes p. 3.
  2. ^ Charles Darwin to Susan Elizabeth Darwin, Jan. 28, 1836, Letter 294 in The Darwin Correspondence Project (accessed Nov. 11, 2008).
  3. ↑ William Branwhite Clarke to Charles Darwin, [August 1861], Letter 3222 in The Darwin Correspondence Project (accessed November 11, 2008).

further reading

  • Lionel Lindsay: Conrad Martens: the Man and his Art . Angus & Robertson, Sydney 1920. (online)

Web links

Commons : Conrad Martens  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Martens, Conrad
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English painter
DATE OF BIRTH 1801
PLACE OF BIRTH London , England
DATE OF DEATH August 21, 1878
Place of death Sydney , Australia