Biographies

Born in Toulouse, Martin came at a young age to Paris where he studied in 1879 under J.P Laurens. He exhibited his paintings the following year at the Paris Salon and became known in 1883 with a work entitled «Françoise de Rimini». Martin travelled to Italy in 1885 and such trip had a decisive influence over his career. He had so far been a classical painter and after discovering the light of Italian skies and the works of Giotto and of primitive painters, Martin then painted works full of poetry using a special technique with swift, short separated and parallel brush strokes giving a them vaporous touch.

The first painting exhaling such technique was his «Fête de la Fédération» exhibited in 1889 and which earned him a gold medal. Martin was commissioned in 1895 to decorate several rooms of the new Paris townhall for which he was awarded the Légion d'Honneur distinction. The same year the artist took part in an exhibition at the Mancini gallery which established his fame. Martin was also awarded a major prize at the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris and decorated the capitole building in Toulouse beside works produced for the Sorbonne University, the Court of Justice and the State Council in Paris.