Biography

Italian painter, part of a family of painters, son of Antonio Vivarini. He is first mentioned in the wills of his mother in 1457 and 1458. He was probably trained by his uncle, but later adopted the manner of Giovanni Bellini. He emerged as an independent artist in 1476 when he was enrolled in the Scuola della Carita, Venice, and signed a polyptych (Urbino, Palazzo Ducale) for the Franciscans of Montefiorentino in the Marches. In 1488, conscious of the family prestige, he petitioned to work alongside the Bellini in the Sala del Gran Consiglio of the Doge's Palace. He was allotted three canvases, but at his death two were incomplete and one only begun. Vasari mentioned these historical scenes (destroyed 1577) and also referred to him as the 'unhappy Vivarini', confirming an impression, conveyed in documents, that he became ill in his last years. Perhaps for this reason he died poor and in debt.