Art historian and conservation scholar.  Marijnissen was born in Ghent but at an early age lost the sight in his right eye from a serious ulcer.  Despite this, Marijnissen studied art history and in 1948 wrote a dissertation on the Patronage of Philip II under Paul Coremans. However the technical aspects of art, rather than archival research, caught his attention.   Cormans teaching led Marijnissen to join the initiative to restore L'Agneau Mystique (The Lamb of God) and issue a publication on it.