Head of an Old Man
ca. 1877-1879
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly
Accession Number
1929.6.44
Tags
About this artwork
This painting is a study rather than a fully realized portrait. Frank Duveneck focused his attention on the face, modeling with broad brushstrokes the way a sculptor might work in clay. The direct painting and hastily brushed background give the effect of being in the studio and watching Duveneck paint. This sketch was probably made while the artist was living in Munich in the late 1870s.
About the Artist
Frank Duveneck
Frank Duveneck (1848–1919) was an American painter, etcher, and teacher whose dark, bravura style made him one of the most celebrated and influential American artists of the late nineteenth century. Born in Covington, Kentucky, he showed early artistic promise and eventually made his way to Munich, where he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts under Wilhelm von Diez. Munich's artistic culture...