Born near Breda, Petrus van Schendel studied at the Amsterdam Academy under van Bree. He worked in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, finally settling in Brussels in 1845. He painted portraits, historical and genre scenes but it is for his market scenes that he is most famous. He excelled at painting these by night using candles, lamps or tourches to create dramatic light effects. He exhibited in Amsterdam, Antwerp, and The Hague from 1827 to 1867 and won a gold medal at Brussels. He is represented in several museums in Amsterdam including the Rijksmuseum