Franz Kienmayer (1886-1963) was an Austrian painter, illustrator, and professor. Born in Vienna, his parents wanted him to become a Catholic priest. After two years of training for the priesthood, Kienmayer left for Leipzig to stay with an uncle who was a well-known artist and newspaper illustrator. Kienmayer worked in a village store as a clerk, drew portraits on the side, and built up a good reputation as an artist. In 1906, he enrolled at Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna. After completing his training, Kienmayer travelled in Italy, Spain, Morocco, Egypt, and Palestine. He then returned to Germany and joined the Leipziger Illustrierte Zeitung as a staff artist.

In 1926, Kienmayer was appointed a professor at the Art Academy in Vienna. The same year he travelled to the Far-East where he remained for about six years. Kienmayer visited China, Japan, Singapore, Malaya, and many of the islands of the Indonesian archipelago during his travels and painted many scenes of daily life in Asia. Widely recognized as an Orientalist artist, Kienmayer exhibited his works in Indonesia, the Netherlands and at the Great German Art Exhibition in Munich in 1937. Upon his return to Germany, he worked in Leipzig as an art professor until his retirement in 1942. Kienmayer visited Ceylon around 1930.