Martín Rico y Ortega (El Escorial 12 November 1833 – Venice 13 April 1908) was a Spanish painter of landscapes and cityscapes.

Rico was one of the most important artists of the second half of the nineteenth century in his native country, and enjoyed wide international recognition as well, especially in France and the United States.

Toward the end of 1870, due to political and social unrest caused by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, Rico decided to leave France and return to his native Spain.

From this first trip until his death thirty-six years later, Rico spent every summer with the exception of one working in the Italian “City of Light.” Venice's unique setting, with its plazas, churches and canals, as well as its magnificent light, attracted many artists, including Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, John Singer Sargent, Pierre Renoir and Federico del Campo.

Joining this group of artists while following in the tradition of the Italian vedute of the eighteenth century, Rico frequently painted his Venetian scenes outdoors, often from a gondola anchored to a canal or from the window of his room located in the Dorsoduro neighborhood.