SS Ellan Vannin (1883) SS Ellan Vannin (1883) SS (RMS) (the Manx name for the Isle of Man) was built as an iron paddle steamer in 1860 at Meadowside, Glasgow for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. She was originally named "Mona's Isle" - the second ship in the Company's history to be so named. She served for 23 years under that name before being rebuilt, re-engined and renamed in 1883. As "Ellan Vannin" she served for a further 26 years before being lost in a storm on 3 December 1909 in Liverpool Bay. "Mona's Isle" was built by Tod and McGregor Ltd,
Portrait of a Lady Known as Smeralda Brandini clients for many years, is likely that Cartwright has confused Viviano with his son Michelangelo (Michele) because in 1475, the year of the tournament of La Giostra to which she refers, Michele was only 18 years old and his father was much better known. Art historians note new features in the composition: "earlier Florentine portraits were in profile. The woman's three-quarter pose, with her hand on the window frame, was Botticelli's own invention". The portrait is thought to be the first example of a three-quarters pose in Florentine portrait painting. "By abandoning the profile pose traditionally used in depictions of