285 - Franck DUVENECK (1848-1919)

Franck DUVENECK (1848-1919) Bust-Length Portrait of a Lady Canvas, signed and localized upper right "F. Duveneck / München". Height 46 cm; Width: 37.5 cm Born in the United States to a German father, Franck Duveneck began his apprenticeship at an early age, notably with Wilhem Lamprechts, a German decorator. After completing his training in Munich in 1869, he turned to easel painting, studying at the Royal Academy with Alexander Strähuber and Wilhem Diez. Awarded a prize in 1872, some of his most famous works date from these years, such as Whistling Boy (canvas, 70.8 x 53.7 cm, Cincinnati Art Museum, inv. 1904.196). His style blends the influence of the Old Masters of the Northern School with a vigorous technique, in which the brushstrokes stand out clearly against a dark background. In 1873, Duveneck returned to the United States, where he enjoyed rapid success, particularly in Boston. After a stay in Venice, Duveneck opened a school in Munich in 1878, where his pupils became known as the "Duveneck Boys". Elected to the Society of American Artists in 1880, Duveneck turned his attention to etching, producing works very similar to those of Whistler, whom he had met a few years earlier in Venice. His style then became more luminous. He taught in Chicago, New York and Cincinnati and was named a member of the Académie Nationale de Dessin in 1906. A painter emblematic of the exchanges between Germany and the United States at the end of the 19th century, Duveneck also left a large number of portraits, including those of the famous painter Winslow Homer and the impressionist Ralph Curtis, Sargent's cousin.