Henri-Jean Guillaume Martin was born in Toulouse in 1860 and received his early training at the École des Beaux-Arts there under Jules Garipuy. In 1879 he moved to Paris to continue his studies in the studio of Jean-Paul Laurens, aligning himself with the academic tradition of the Paris Salon. He exhibited regularly at the Salon, receiving a medal in 1883 at the age of twenty-three, followed by further recognition in subsequent years. 

A scholarship enabled Martin to travel to Italy, where exposure to early Renaissance painting, particularly the work of Giotto and Masaccio, prompted a decisive shift in his approach. Moving away from the polished academic manner of his early history paintings, he adopted a more broken brushwork and a heightened use of colour, often associated with the broader currents of Neo-Impressionism. His technique developed into a structured surface of small, distinct strokes, while retaining a strong compositional framework. Martin was awarded a gold medal at the Paris Salon in 1889 and later received the Grand Prix at the Exposition Universelle in 1900. He was appointed to the Légion d’honneur and undertook significant decorative commissions, including murals for the Hôtel de Ville in Paris and the Capitole in Toulouse.

In later life, Martin settled at La Bastide du Vert, near Cahors, where the surrounding landscape became his principal subject. From this point, his work focused increasingly on the gardens, terraces and countryside of the Lot valley, rendered with a sustained attention to light and seasonal variation. These paintings, produced over several decades, form a significant part of his mature output. He remained there until his death in 1943.