Signed lower right, 'Janus' for Ian Janus (Dutch-Italian, born 1919) and painted circa 1955. A study of a beautiful young woman shown posed in the foreground with a distant evening view, beyond, towards the Venetian skyline at dusk Born in Holland in 1919, Ian Janus first studied in Amsterdam and, subsequently, in Paris and Florence. He later settled in Venice, where he established both his studio and his reputation. His paintings show the influence of his early sculptural training as well as an affinity with the artistic vision of both Modigliani and Lautrec. Ian Janus exhibited widely and with success including in Rome, Florence, Venice and Paris.