Marten van Heemskerck was a Dutch painter and draughtsman who also designed engravings. Karel van Mander, a contemporary biographer, wrote a biographical account of van Heemskerck's life in 1583, after having intervieved the artist’s family and friends. We know from van Mander that, against his father's wishes, van Heemskerck became an apprentice to the painter Cornelis Willemsz in Haarlem and completed his training with Jan Lucasz in Delft. He then went back to Haarlem to work with Jan van Scorel, who had developed an innovative painting style during a long stay in Italy. Van Heemskerck remained in Haarlem until 1532, during which time he created several portraits and a depiction of "Saint Luke painting the Madonna". He gave the latter to the painters' guild in Haarlem as a farewell gift before setting off for Italy. In the summer of 1532, van Heemskerck moved to Rome for the next five years. During this period, he devoted himself to the study of antiquity and drawing from nature. His sketchbooks, which show ruins, landscapes, city views and anatomy studies, are now in the Kupferstichkabinett Berlin. However, hardly any paintings have survived from his Roman period. Van Heemskerck returned to Haarlem in 1537 and was extremely productive: more than 100 paintings by him – from huge altarpieces to small-format portraits – have survived. Many of his drawings were used as designs for copper engravings. Van Heemskerck's Mannerism, influenced by Michelangelo and Giulio Romano, spread with the prints through Northern Europe and influenced many painters. The self-portrait, which is now in the Uffizi and served as the model for this portrait by Roland Schauls, shows the artist in front of the Colosseum in Rome.