Exceptional Frank Duveneck Oil Portrait of a Young Woman, Circa 1905

Item Details

Frank Duveneck (Ohio/Germany/Italy, 1848 – 1919)
Untitled, Circa 1905
Oil on canvas
Signed with the artist’s signature monogram and dated in red to lower left
Artist’s name stamped to canvas verso and stretcher bar verso
Closson Cincinnati label adhered to frame backing
Metal nameplate affixed to lower center of frame

Provenance
Purchased in the late 1980s by its current collector.

An oil portrait of a young woman in crimson red attire by renowned Cincinnati-based artist Frank Duveneck (Ohio/Germany/Italy, 1848 – 1919), created circa 1905. This exceptional example of Duveneck’s work was painted at the time Duveneck was teaching at the Cincinnati Art Academy. The artist would paint similar works as demonstrations for his students. Featuring some similarities to his portraits of Maggie Wilson, a woman he painted several times at the turn of the century, the portrait exhibits some of Duveneck’s trademark aspects found in his portraits, including the subject’s crimson lips, the vibrant red accents visible throughout the subject’s attire, and the subtle play of red reflections throughout the sitter’s skin. Also typical of the artist is the strong emphasis centered on the subject’s pursed lips and her striking eyes that mysteriously gaze off to the left. In the traditional Duveneck style, the tighter more refined brushstrokes are concentrated in the middle, revealing the details and careful chiaroscuro throughout the woman’s face; in contrast the brushstrokes are applied more loosely and painterly in the space surrounding the subject’s face, revealing the influence of some of Duveneck’s role models such as Dutch Masters Rembrandt and Frans Hals. Interestingly this work was painted at a time the artist had adopted brighter hues similar to the impressionists, however this portrait is rendered in Duveneck’s earlier style that often featured a darker palette.

The painting is signed and dated to the lower left in Duveneck’s typical fashion, with his signature monogram in red pigment. The date and an additional inscription below the artist’s signature appears to read ‘Venice 1905’. The work is presented in a gold-tone gesso wood Closson frame that was carefully chosen by its most recent owner. The painting was previously purchased from a Hugo Ruef auction in 1986, held in Munich, Germany. Photocopy images of the catalog and the listing of the painting in that auction are included.

Frank Duveneck is celebrated primarily as a portrait and figural painter, however he also painted landscapes and other genres. He was born in 1848 in Covington, Kentucky and was apprenticed as a teen to German-American artists who decorated Catholic churches. In 1869, he studied abroad at the Royal Academy of Munich and shared an interest in the Old European Masters, especially Dutch and Flemish artists of the 17th century, such as Rembrandt and Frans Hals. His earlier style is reflective of these influences as they exhibited darker colors and expressive brushstrokes, demonstrating a melded style of his German contemporaries and Old Master techniques. Duveneck returned to Cincinnati where his work began to receive attention, then once again traveled to Munich where he opened a school in 1878. His students Twachtman, Otto Bacher and Herman Wessel, to name a few, became known as the “Duveneck Boys”. In 1889, after the tragic loss of his wife, Duveneck returned again to the United States and chose to live a quiet life in Covington, Kentucky, while teaching at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, where he became the chairman. Some of his notable students at the Art Academy include Edward Timothy Hurley, Lewis Henry Meakin, John Weis, James Hopkins, and John Rettig, to name a few. Duveneck’s work can be found in many prestigious private collections, as well as the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC; the Cincinnati Art Museum; the Richmond Art Museum; the Smithsonian American Art Museum; and the Kenton County Library in Covington, Kentucky, among many others.

Condition

- small areas of in painting scattered throughout, especially visible along edges; varnish throughout surface of painting; painting was professionally cleaned in 1990; rubbing and paint loss throughout edges of painting; craquelure scattered throughout painting; fraying and small tears to edges of canvas.

Dimensions

- measurement of frame; canvas size measures approximately 12.5" W x 16.5" H.

Item #

ITMG108373