Frank Duveneck Oil Painting "Columbus before the Council of Salamanca," 1886

Item Details

Frank Duveneck (Ohio/Germany/Italy, 1848 – 1919)
Columbus before the Council of Salamanca, 1886
Oil study on canvas
Unsigned
Includes provenance attached to the verso

Provenance
Frank Duveneck;
by descent to his son, Mr. Frank B. Duveneck, 1936;
Mrs. Josephine W. Duveneck, his daughter-in-law, before 1957;
Gift to Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts (now known as the Columbus Museum of Art), June 1957;
Chase Gilmore Art Galleries, Chicago, 1981;
Private collection;
Spanierman Gallery;
Present owner

An oil painting by the renowned Cincinnati-based artist Frank Duveneck, titled Columbus Before the Council of Salamanca, dated 1886. This work by Duveneck, of rather impressive scale, is a study conducted for a mural that he planned to paint in a large courtyard of a Villa outside Florence. It is an example of a history subject that had become a popular subject among European artists in the 19th century and features Christopher Columbus facing his toughest audience, attempting to persuade the elite academics to sponsor his proposed voyages to the Asian continent.

Duveneck’s work on this mural project had been in progress for at least a decade, as he had been making sketches for the mural since the late 1870s. Details of the painting reveal the artist’s original grid lines that he drew for scaling and even the pinholes where he tacked the work onto the studio wall while painting. Duveneck began sketching his mural on the wall of the Villa, however since then the Villa was transformed into a women’s boarding school, and his progress on the mural was painted over during the redecorating process.

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 John Henry 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

- significant abrasions to the edges and surface of the frame; negligible punctures to the upper center, upper right corner and lower center of the canvas; examined under UV light, negligible retouching of the painting.

Dimensions

- measures the frame; sight measures 44.25" W x 30.25" H.

• This item may be especially difficult to move and/or transport. The winner is responsible for bringing appropriate assistance, vehicle, proper materials, and any necessary tools to pickup. International shipping may be restricted.

• Item not examined outside of mounting.

Item #

ITMG600309