A wonderful painting of the Doge's Palace and St Mark’s Square from the Dogana, Venice by Jane Vivian. The Dogana was originally the main customs stop for all ships coming into Venice. In this painting, merchants can be seen waiting for an inspection, having unloaded their wares from their boats. Meanwhile other ships continue to dock at the famous customs house.

Jane Vivian was a landscape artist best known for her Venetian scenes. Few biographical details exist, which has led to some sources listing her as the daughter of John Victor de Fleury (fl.1847-1868), a painter of landscapes and coastal scenes who has been mistakenly named James Vivian de Fleury. However, there is strong evidence to suggest she was actually connected to the Meadows family of artists and that Vivian was possibly a pseudonym of one of the children of James Edwin Meadows (1828-1893) or perhaps Meadows himself. His daughters Alice and Julia Anne Meadows were both listed as artists on the 1871 census.

It is known that she lived in London and began her exhibiting career in 1869 at the Royal Society of British Artists. She made her debut at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists a year later in 1870. Her address at the time was listed as Essex Villa, The Avenue, Acton which was also where Meadows and his family lived during this period. She was a frequent exhibitor at the Bristol Fine Art Academy from 1871 and also exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society, Falmouth, York Fine Art Exhibition and other exhibitions in Dundee, Sheffield and Worcester. She was a highly gifted artist working in both oils and watercolours. Her paintings received wide critical acclaim and were described as having a “great depth of tone” and “a sunniness and warmth about it which is perfectly captivating”.

By 1876, Vivian was living at Gainsborough House, Aldine Street, Shepherd’s Bush Green which again was also the same address as Meadows. Assuming she was a family member, she was probably taught by her father and may well have travelled with him and his brother Arthur Joseph Meadows (1843-1907)to Europe, spending time in Italy especially Venice where she produced many views of the famous city. She continued to exhibit at the Bristol Fine Art Academy until around 1892.

Vivian also painted riverscapes and lake views of other European cities such as Bruges and Rouen, however it is for her Venetian scenes that she is perhaps best known. A number of her works can be found at the Shipley Art Gallery, Newstead Abbey, Bangor, Museum of Croydon and the Haworth Art Gallery.

© Benton Fine Art