Martinus was not inclined to schooling, but in 1820 started his studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts at 17 years of age.

He studied under Christian August Lorentzen and Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, a strong influence on a generation of artists during the Danish Golden Age.

In 1829 he won the small gold medal for his painting Christ healing the blind, which remains in the ownership of the Royal Danish Academy.

[3] After that, Rørbye parted with Andersen, continuing to the remote and seldom-visited Thy province of north-western Jutland to visit relatives in Thisted.

From his journals it can be concluded that he found the place deeply exotic, making detailed sketches and notes of everything from women's costumes and markets to the scenery.

When he arrived in Rome, he joined the city's thriving Danish artists community which had Bertel Thorvaldsen as its central figure.

Rørbye is number two from the left sitting behind Bindesbøll who is lying on the floor with a fez he often wore after their visit to Constantinople.

The following year Rørbye traveled to Athens accompanied by the architect Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll, one of the compatriots he had met in Rome.

The Academy, recognizing the excellence of his work during his travels, invited him to apply for membership by submitting a painting.

He gave private painting lessons to Christen Dalsgaard, and in 1844 became professor at the Academy's school of modelling.

His health deteriorated, and he died on 29 August 1848 in Copenhagen, leaving his young wife widowed and with several small children.

Rørbye visited Skagen on three occasions, painting the local fishermen and the North Sea environs.

The first time was in 1833, the year before he set out on his travels to the Mediterranean area and almost half a century before the community of Skagen Painters formed in the town and came to fame.