Antique Oil Painting View of San Simeone Piccolo J.Vivian 19th C

Jane Vivian de Fleury  ( Active 1869-1890 ) 

Jane Vivian was a landscape painter who lived in London. She is known particularly for her views of Venice and exhibited a number of works at the Society of British Artists, including views of Venice, Bruges, and Rouen. She also exhibited at several provincial galleries including the Royal Society of Artists, Birmingham, The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, Manchester City Gallery, and the Royal Hibernian Academy.

She came from a dynasty of topographical artists who worked and lived in England.

J de Fleury was active and successful  from 1799 to 1823.  He was a landscape painter who mainly worked in Wales but lived in London and was a regular exhibitor in the major London exhibitions between 1799 & 1823.

His son J. Vivian de Fleury painted mainly abroad and specialized in views of Switzerland and Italy. He exhibited between 1847 & 1868 and had many addresses in London during this time.

Miss J. Vivian first exhibits a view of Venice from a London address in 1869 and continues to exhibit mainly Italian views until 1877. Around 1880 she seems to have moved, as did her father, as their next exhibiting address is Islington Row, Birmingham where she continued to exhibit work until 1888. The name J.V. de Fleury reappears at the Birmingham Society exhibitions in 1892 & 1893. Her work shows an attention to detail that is a reflection of her father's technique but there is a lightness of touch and softness in the palate, which is considered even finer.

 

Angelica Kauffman, RA (1741 - 1807)

was a Swiss-born Austrian Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Though born as "Kauffmann", Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name in English; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.

While Kauffman produced many types of art, she identified herself primarily as a history painter, an unusual designation for a woman artist in the 18th century. History painting, was considered the most elite and lucrative category in academic painting during this time period. Under the direction of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Royal Academy made a strong effort to promote history painting to a native audience who were more interested in commissioning and buying portraits and landscapes.

Despite the popularity that Kauffman enjoyed in British society and her success as an artist, she was disappointed by the relative apathy that the British had towards history painting. Ultimately she left Britain for the continent, where history painting was better established, held in higher esteem and patronized.

The works of Angelica Kauffman have retained their reputation. By 1911, rooms decorated with her work were still to be seen in various quarters. At Hampton Court was a portrait of the duchess of Brunswick; in the National Portrait Gallery, a self-portrait. There were other pictures by her at Paris, at Dresden, in the Hermitage at St Petersburg, in the Alte Pinakothek atMunich, in Kadriorg Palace, Tallinn (Estonia).

Satinwood

is a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia.

The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satinwood, sometimes called yellow wood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies.

It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satinwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.