Early Life, Family and Training Ferdinand Marinus was born on 20 August 1808 in Antwerp, Belgium, into a family headed by Jean François Marinus and Marie Claire Kinard. His early years in this bustling port city provided the foundation for a life dedicated to the visual arts. He eventually entered into marriage with Marie Anne Bertrand, establishing a private life alongside his professional development. His formal education took place at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, where he began to refine his technical abilities. He studied under the guidance of Mattheus Ignatius van Bree, a painter sp…