FRANK DUVENECK Ix

Home , Frank Duveneck

F R A N K D U VE N E C K F rom t he Portra xt b y jo s eph DeC a mp F RAN K DUVE N E CK

B Y

N OR BE R ’I‘ H E E R MA N N

WI TH ILLU S T RA TIONS

BOSTON AND YO R K U GH TO N M IF F LI N COM PA N Y

F RAN K DU V E N E CK

B Y

NORBERT H E E R MA N N

WIT H ILLU STRAT IONS

BOSTON A ND N E W YOR K HOUGHTON M IF F L I N COMPANY mmmin a ﬁibz 'Brew (Eambtibge 1 9 1 8

PR E FACE

I N a well - known dictionary of American artists in which considerable space is devoted to a l

of most all our artists , we ﬁnd under Frank

’ Duveneck s name j ust a small paragraph , and

’ under that the editor s remark N o answer to

’ circular . This is characteristic of Duveneck . Since it was not a very easy matter to get the chronology of the works and most interesting I facts in connection with them correctly , am especially indebted to those who have aided me in the preparation of this little work , to Mrs .

B rn h rn . . a o William B Pratt, Mr Clement , and

Mr . Oliver Dennett Grover . For permission to make use of photographs of their paintings by Duveneck I am grateful to the Cincinnati M u seum , the Boston Museum of Fine Arts , the

s Penn ylvania Academy of Fine Arts , the Chi V i PREFACE cago Art Institute , the Queen City Club of

Cincinnati , and the Boston Tavern Club , and

to Mrs . Henry C . Angell and Mr . M . A .

w . De olfe Howe , of Boston ILLU STR AT ION S

Frank D uv en e ck F r on ti spi ece m the e e a m e the Fro Portrait by Jos ph D c p , own d by Cin ci n n a ti Mus eum

’ Jos eph D eca mp s po rt rait of Duveneck s t rongly indicat es hi s phys ica l ' - Pe e s d e a n d m ent a l m ake up an d h arm omz es very w ell w ith M rs . nn ll SCI’l t fl a e The ex res s m n I NS e es an d a s the a as p (p g p of y h nd in c nv , s es a e a th e s i er mi m ean a m s a ugg ting 'ui tude th t to out d ght l o t nything , y et to tho s e th a t know hi m conveys t h e feeling of l at ent pow er an d re m inds o n e th at thes e b lu e ey es of hi s a re us e d to look at things fi rm ly - Th e o r an d to t a ke from th em a cl ear cut s um m ary of w h a t IS there. p r a i s i hi r It w a s a w r t it a doub le t r b ut e of Decamp to s t each e . o k of e ime a b ee a e r m m m is s i s m e e It for a i lov , t h ving n t k n f o co on to co pl t g ft Ci n cmn at i w ere D eCa m w as b r an d re ei e h i s ea r art r am to , h p o n c v d ly t I ’ A ing . t a l s o c a rri es t h e s ign of th e latt er s t ra ini ng und er Duveneck . fi n e e e ara eriz a i the ers s m m e w h o s ai Cu t pi c of ch ct t on ; p on u d it up d , t he h and on the l eft out a n d s how it to anybody tha t know s Duveneck an d h e w ill t ell you w ho s e h and it

V T h e Old S chool m a s t e r e the s e m of e Own d by Bo ton Mus u Fin Arts , now hung the e of f me e e C e in hous its or r own r , Mrs . H nry . Ang ll , Boston

V Whi s tling B oy Own ed by the Cincinnati Mus eum

x /W om a n w ith a Fan e e fe e Bs Own d by Mr . M . A . D wol How , o ton

J Y oun g Man w ith Ruff Own ed by the Cincinnati Mus eum

Portrait of Profe s s or Lud w ig L o e fftz Ow ned by the Cincinnati Mus eum FRAN K DUVEN ECK

N1 Unﬁ ni s h e d Portrait Stu dy Owned by th e Cincinn a ti Mus eum

m . J Portrait of M r . Willia Adam s Own ed by the Cincinnati Mus eum

JT urki s h Page Own e d by the Pennsylvani a Acad emy o f Fin e Art s

m w h e - M e - s A Wo an it Forg t Not Own ed by the Cincinnati Mus eum

Sk e tch of a T u rk e the e l B Own d by Tav rn C ub , oston

Portrait of J. Frank C u rri er e the I t e a Own d by Art ns itut , Chic g o

4 R ed - Haired Man w ith R uff Own ed by the Cincinn ati Mus eum

’ JTh e Cob b l er s Appr entic e

e a l e P. a f Own d by Mr . Ch r s T t

x 3 Portrait of John W . Al e and e r Own ed by the Cincinnati Mus eum

W el l e - Q and Wat r Tank , Italian Villa Own ed by the Cincinna ti Mus eum

Old w o o B v A To n Bro k , P lling , a aria Own ed by the Cincinnati Mus eum

j F l o ren ti n e Flow e r Girl Own ed by the Cincinnati Mus eum

Si esta l e the ee l c Own d by Qu n City C ub , Cin innati

v e v e e . Ri a d gli Schia oni , V nic Etching FRANK DUVENECK ix

Th e e ce . Rialto , V ni Etching

' m z B o t uv . M e orial to Eli ab e th ot D e n e ck Scul pt ur e . “ z e the C eme e l e e Bron in Allori t ry , F or nc

Fac s im il e of th e L e tte r adopt ed ﬁ rs t b y th e For e ign

M em b e r s of th e Ju ry for th e Panam a- Paci ﬁ c In tern ati o n al E x po s ition and late r e ndor s e d b y th e Entire Am e ri can Ju ry

F RANK DU VE NE CK

’ s AFTE R all said , Frank Duveneck is the ” greatest talent of the brush of this generation . These are the words which John Singer Sar gent spoke at a dinner given in London in the

early nineties , in a discussion of the merits of

such eminent men as Carolus Duran and others .

This j udgment , deliberately spoken by a man whom artists and laymen alike have come to regard as the most technically brilliant of

painters , would not now, any more than it did then , arouse contradiction in a company of Y artists . et to the general public it would come

b e with a shock of surprise . This is in part cause Duveneck ’s work is not accessible to the general public . Another reason lies in the fact

’ that the greatness of Duveneck s art is best u n d er o sto d . by the student of painting His style , 2 FRAN K DUVENECK

“ ' simple and direct , is sans phrase , without

i ff techn cal tricks for e ect, without persuasive

- n story subj ects , without even so much self co “ s ci ou sn ess as is implied in the word senti ” ment . Of literary association there is none,

of doctrine or dogma there is none . The world

of this painter is not history , not imagination ,

not psychological analysis , not ethics ; those

ﬁelds which our public loves to expl ore . His compelling interest is in the normal aspect of

man and nature , the subj ects he chooses are everyday types ; he conceives them in an n u

en pretentious spirit , but transmits them as

dowed with quiet power . There is in his work

a certain ﬁnality of grasp with a dignity , a calm , which to the connoisseur is akin to the serenity

a of the Greek , while to the multitude it may p pear actually commonplace . That a man of this type should later have been almost lost sight of, except by his intimate

sur circle of artist friends , is not altogether prising i n this country and at a time like the OLD SCHOOLMASTE R 1 87 1 th e ee th e e e e e e This portrait , with k n grasp of xpr ssiv f atur s of this ’ e - e ﬁ e e e e s e e st rn , old fashion d gur , was paint d in Duv n ck s cond y ar in

e Munich an astonishing achi ev m ent .

FRANK DUVENECK 5

present, when change swiftly follows change and is greeted with a clamor that distracts at tention from earlier achievement .

We owe it to the Duveneck Gallery at the Panama Pac iﬁc International Exposition that the full power of this personality has been once more thrown into full relief ; and the action

of the j ury in awarding him a special medal ,

the highest in its power to bestow , is a timely reminder of the truly classic standard of his work and of its importance in the development

of our national school . ff To appreciate the e ect of his painting , when

it was ﬁrst exhibited over forty years ago , we must remember the lack of national character

in the American art of that day . The country was ﬂooded with foreign paintings which i n spired our painters to either the sentimental u story picture of D sseldorf lineage , or the dry

reﬂection of other lifeless works . Only here and there the ﬂicker of independent thought 6 FRAN K DUVEN ECK

appeared . Inness , the father of the naturalistic

w h movement in American landscape , o had j ust returned from Italy, was beginning to feel his way towards the splendor of his later work . Homer Martin was in more or less an ex peri mental stage , and so was Alexander H . Wyant . John La Farge ’s poetic genius was getting ready to express itself with full mastery for the ﬁrst time in his mural decoration in Trinity

’ Church , Boston and George Fuller s no

e ble art was y t hidden from the public, his inti mate friends alone knowing that he painted in

D eerﬁ eld the intervals ofhis farm work at , Mass

i a chu s etts . William Morr s Hunt was actually the only widely recognized artistic personage at the time . He had opened a studio in Boston

86 . in 1 2 It proved successful , and his lectures on art, notably the art of his great inspiration

Millet , also of Delacroix and Daumier , pre pared i h that city the most open - minded audi ence which existed in the country .

i 1 8 Before this audience , n 7 5 , came Frank WHISTLING B OY 1 87 2 ’ Th e e e s m l e e e z e e e n e young Duv n ck co p t r ali ation of t chni'u , cl ar ss

i e ai m e e of v sion , and pow rful for what is vital in portraitur . Ev ry

e thing h er e fairly palpitat es with lif . WHIST L IN G BOY 1 87 2

I O FRAN K DUVEN ECK

launched . The younger men among the Amer ican painters had been brought into contact with a vital inﬂuence from outside and had been taught to respect their own reaction to it . As we have seen , this ﬁrst impulse came by way of Munich ; later Paris became the art school of the world . All this now is too well known to be dwelt upon . In speaking of Duveneck I would emphasize the powerful effect of his own work at the out set of our era . What he accomplished after that, while not less surely , was more quietly done . His class in Florence , then known as “ ” the Duveneck Boys , his Italian paintings , his series of Venetian and Florentine etchings ,

d a d his work as a sculptor, decorator, an as viser has been of inestimable value , the story of his life affording a natural bridge by which to pass from our early period to the present day . WOMAN WIT H A FAN 1 873 Lik e th e rom anc e of a long- forg ott en day thi s lady em erges from th e a h er h er e e e h er e d rk with fan , grac ful f ath ry hat, 'uaint ruch , silk

es . s e e e e e e th e s e dr s , and black shawl A k d onc in r f r nc to up rb paint

h er e e s th e e em e e s : Y es e ing of y , d pth of th , Duv n ck aid , in thos d ay s I had ey es lik e a hawk and ye t I paint ed two days on that on e eye ” in th e light . WOMA N WITH A FAN 1 87 3

I I

FRA N K D U VEN EC K was born in 1 848 in Coving ton , Kentucky, across the Ohio River from

Cincinnati . Among his early recollections are a variety of interesting incidents of the Civil

- War . Naturally , living on the border line

of North and South , he felt the inﬂuence of the conﬂict through contact with the sick and wounded ; also with negro refugees , half starved , helpless , and often not too hospitably received . At this time the Benedictine Friars were making altars for Catholic churches in

Covington , and they employed Duveneck , still a mere boy , in his ﬁrst artistic work . He painted , modeled , carved, decorated , ﬁnding a great deal of pleasure in the variety of his work . His ability soon attracted the attention of a local painter named Schmidt, and later, at the age of eighteen , of a church decorator of Ger

man birth and training named Lamprecht , 14 FRAN K DUVEN ECK who coming just then to Cincinnati accepted him as an assistant . The varied work which

’ followed prov ed of importance in Duveneck s dev elopment . H e learned his craft in the next few years , the rough craft of painting on large surfaces . H e decorated churches in many dif feren t places, even as far away as Canada . Realizing more and more his artistic ambition and being strongly advised by his fellow dec orators to study abroad , he managed to get to

Munich, which had at this time taken the place of Dusseldorf as the leading art school in Germany, and entered the Royal Academy . 8 This was in 1 7 0 . After w orking for three months in the Antique Class , Duveneck was admitted , without any of the usual preparatory life drawings , to the painting class of Wilhelm

Dietz, one of the radicals among the faculty who had become a professor at the Academy the same year that Duveneck entered . Among his classmates at this time were two who afterwards became famous ; one of them being

’ Anoth er exam pl e of th e artist s int ens ely vi tal con s truction of th e

e e h ad with dir ct brush drawing . YO U NG MAN WIT H R U FF 1 87 3

FRANK DUVENECK 17

Loefftz Ludwig , later a professor and after that Director of the Munich Academy ; and the

Trﬁ b n er other, Wilhelm , who ranks among the strongest modern German painters . It is interesting to linger over the condition of the art world of Munich at the time young

Duveneck stepped into it . It was a period of transitions . Within a generation the sound draughtsmanship , painstakingly built up on

German soil by schooling received in France , had been followed by a wave of enthusiasm for color and now again had received a fresh impetus from Paris . At that time in the French

- capital , Delacroix and Ingres , the arch roman

- ti ci st . and arch classicist , still held their own Besides these there were masters such as those glorifying the Napoleonic legend , Horace Ver net and Meissonier ; the discoverers of the

M ari lh at F rom en Orient for art , Decamps , , tin ; the genre painters of all kinds ; together with the elegant portrayers of feminine beauty ,

Cab an el , Baudry ; the serious stylists , like 1 8 FRAN K DUVENECK

e n Chen av ard Chass riau , Flandri , and , and the excellent landscape painters . And ﬁnally there were the rev olutionary realists with Courbet at their head . In place apart stood Corot and

Millet, whose art though closely associated with the Barbizon School is yet greater . Something of all these was reﬂected in M u

i i n nich in the s xties , and what is for us most teresti n g is the fact that two men there at least were following a course parallel to that of

Lei b l C ourbet . These men were Wilhelm , whose inﬂuence in Munich was very strong

v on even then , and Wilhelm Dietz , the young instructor into whose hands Duveneck fell .

arti ﬁ ci ali ti es Their art , resisting the of the

Pi lot M akart older painters , y and , had been inspired by an intense study of nature and of the Dutch masters in the old Pinakothek , and

’ had , only the year before Duveneck s coming, received a fresh impulse through a great ex hi b iti on of French art in which Courbet was represented by a roomful of paintings . Nature , PORTRAIT OF PROFESSOR LUDWIG LOE F F TZ

1 873 ’ On e th e s s m e a ortrai t e e of arti t ost b autiful works , p all paint rs lov for its dignity and compl et eness .

FRANK DUVENECK 21

pure and simple , was what interested them , U n coin de la nature vu a travers un tem

éram en t p , was the watchword coined for E Z them by mile ola , the spokesman of the new movement . It was among such varied inﬂuences that

w a s i n Duveneck had placed himself and , as evitable with his temperament , it was with the naturalists that he instantly aligned him i self. Theirs was the spirit n which Duveneck approached his work . Given immediately the close contact with a mood and method so absolutely suited to him , and remembering also the technical skill which he had already gained , especially through his free handling of paint in the work of church

u n decoration in America, we can more easily d erstan d the rapid progress of this newcomer in the stimulating art world of Munich ,

- this blond , vigorous , and single hearted young “ ” giant with the eye like a hawk , fresh from a n ew world and conscious of his own power . 22 FRAN K DUVENECK

e During his ﬁrst y ar in Munich , Duveneck took most of the prizes of the Academy , from

to antique drawing composition , a progress which was looked upon as nothing short of phenomenal . The admirable study of a Cir cassian in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts belongs to that year . At that time competitive

- compositions were made , the prize winners were granted the use of a studio , the expenses for models to complete the prize competition usually being paid in addition . Duveneck won this prize in 1 87 2 . After esta blishing himself in th e newly won studio he did not, and indeed s oon proved that he did not have to , return to

’ Dietz s class , for to this time belongs that series

a of canv ses of which we need recall only one , “ ” the Whistling Boy . In this picture are fully evident the qualities which startled and quickly attracted the other painters and students to him . Foremost among these is the expressive use of the paint itself, an astonishing virtuosity of k brushwor closely related to Franz Hals , in UNFINISHED PORTRAIT STUDY 1873 N e th e s e e e e e e ot vitality of bru h xpr ssion in larg plan s , just pr c d

th e e m e e e ing d velop nt of d tail within th e plan s . U NFINI S H E D PORT RAI T S T U D Y 1 8 7 3

26 FRAN K DUVEN ECK

’ : the answer Oh , generally somebody else s . In later years Duveneck came under the spell of the French painters . For a time he became vitally interested in their technique , so without much ado he set himself to study their style for several years , many of his enthusiasts lament ing this change . There is a large portrait of his wife in the Cincinnati Museum which reveals strikingly this departure ; it is a gracefully dis

i n i t g u shed work . PORTRAIT OF M R . WILLIAM ADAMS I S7 4 e th e s e th e fi e the th e e es Not tat ly placing of gur on canvas , dir ctn s

e es s th e th e e e of xpr ion with brush , subtl valu s in solid painting . P F I I ORT RAIT O M R . W LL AM ADAMS 1 874

I I I

1 8 TOWARD the end of the year 73 , the year in

D u which the cholera broke out in Munich , v en eck returned to America . He went at once to Chicago on a commission in connection with N a church decoration . ot wishing to carry too

o much , he traveled with little luggage and n painting material , expecting to buy what he

rri i n i n needed there . Upon a v g Chicago he soon found to his surprise that such things as artist materials were unobtainable goods at that time , in a tow n thatto - day can boast of having at least three thousand artists and art students . So he was obliged to remain idle until the material could be sent for . Upon his return to Cincin nati he was occupied there with several por trait orders , but an exhibition of a group of his portraits from Munich attracted little or no public attention , which is perhaps not surpris ing in the state of connoisseurship then existing . 3 0 FRAN K DUVEN ECK

1 8 Then came the year 75 , in which his one man show in Boston proved more than a suc cess , coming near a sensation . Besides recei v ing excellent criticisms , the whole collection was sold . Nobody was more amazed at this success than Duveneck himself. He has always attributed his favorable reception to William

’ Morris Hunt s lectures on art, which together

’ u with H nt s own work had cleared the way .

L ei b l , whose work in Germany at that time was

’ very similar to Duveneck s , was still absolutely misunderstood there by both press and public ; in fact , he had been obliged to leave Munich for

1 8 2 the country in 7 , largely because of the lack of funds . If Duveneck had been intent on busi ness he would have accepted the very ﬂattering f inducements o fered him to remain in Boston . However the call of the artist life in Munich was too strong to be resisted , so he declined t ‘ them and re urned to Munich the same year , 8 where he worked until 1 7 7 . In company with his friend William M . Chase , Duveneck then

Th e s igniﬁ canc e of this handsom e arrangem ent b ecom es esp ecially evid ent wh en w e think that it was paint ed a s early as 187 6 and ﬁ rs t

m th e e e xhibit e d th e following y e ar . In co pany with work of oth r

m e s Th e s e s e e young A rican , Turki h Pag con titut d a dir ct chal

e h e e n e s th e l eng to t pr vailing co v ntional pirit of National Acad em y .

’ th e e e e e m ai n ti n s thi s m With xc ption of Duv n ck s ural p g , canvas ust

e b e re gard ed as his m ost compl et ely carri d out composition .

FRANK DUVENECK 3 3

al went to Venice , where the two experienced

ern ati on s t of hardship and prosperity , most of the time m anaging to exist on practically noth

ing and enj oying themselves doing it . One year

1 8 8 later , 7 , Duveneck was back in Munich . Chase returned to America and connected him self with the Art Students ’ League which had j ust been formed , teaching being then the only

professional work which he found proﬁtable .

It was the year before, as I have already said , in the Spring exhibition of the National Acad

N ew Y emy of Design in ork , that the group of young Americans had exhibited for the ﬁrst time together, works which , made in Munich

and Paris , were destined to produce the most

’ profound and far - reaching results in America s

art development . The most notable among the

exhibitors were Duveneck , Chase , Inness , and

hi rl S aw . The conservative element of the

Academy , which had been having things all its

own way up to that time , became extremely agitated over the success of these newcomers 34 FRAN K DUVEN ECK from abroad , and especially over the fact that the canvases of thesemen were given such ex cellen t places . At once a meeting was called

A ca d em i and a resolution passed , that every ci an should henceforth have reserved for his work eight feet of space on the line . While this extreme measure was recalled later, it certainly showed plainly the hostile attitude towards these young painters , all of whom we regard to - day as more or less important fac

i n tors the development of our national art . Incidentally the National Academy ’s action resulted in the forming of the “ Society of ” American Artists , which disbanded only a few years ago . One of the sensations of this Academy Ex

’ “ hi b i ti on proved to be Duveneck s Turkish ” Page , now in the Pennsylvania Academy of

Fine Arts . The absolute mastery of all tech n i cal f di ﬁculties , the j ustness of his tonal val ues , and the solidity of his I might say , wet

' into wet straightforward painting, were all WOMAN WITH FORGET - ME - NOTS 1 876 m s e i n s th e s e Al o t d votional pirit , dignity of thi portrait tak s us back to th e day s of th e gr eat Dutch paint ers . U ncon s ciou sly alm o s t w e

ee em u e s z . Sh e i s e m . f l R brandt , R b n , and Fran H als of th ir co pany

FRAN K DUVENECK 3 7 things which had never been seen before quite as in this canvas . The manner in which the various textures of this ambitious arrangement B . e are presented is very handsome , indeed sides the modeling and fine flesh quality of the boy , there are the various beautifully ren dered accessories , like the drapery in the back and the leopard skin in the foreground , the metallic quality of the brass bowl and vase , and finally the beauty of the grapes and plum age o f the white cockatoo with wings out stretched and crest raised . Chase painted the same arrangement with Duveneck , only on a much smaller canvas ; in fact , the pictures ’ D were painted together in Chase s studio . u v en eck never thought his ow n picture quite

ﬁnished . While at work their money gave out and both artists were hard put to pay the little model for the sittings . The works of the other members of the group were the same in char acter, inasmuch as they revealed a grasp , a

to devotion the beauty of nature , at once truth 3 8 FRAN K DUVEN ECK ful , bold , and yet how ﬁne in color and in re lation of light and shadow . Chase showed at the Academy his much - discussed picture called “ ” The Man with the Pipe , which was a por f trait o Duveneck . One of the prominent N ew York papers of the year 1 87 7 made the following statement as to Duveneck ’s “ Turkish Page ” “ Here at

’ last is painting for painting s sake ; study for

’ youth s delight in study, an earnest of the day when our artists shall be bred at home as well

as born at home , and the seal of a foreign

school , the approval of a foreign master, shall no longer be necessary to give an American

a position among his own countrymen . Ten years with such a start as this and we shall send to the next exposition something better than sewing machines and patent cow milkers ; we shall send pictures and statues that will not be shamed by being set alongside the work

of France and England . American artists will ﬁnd at home that atmosphere which for many S K ETCH OF A TURK 1 87 6 In richn e s s of warm color and adm irabl e breadth of stat em ent this

’ ca nva s rank s among thos e of Duven eck s strongest p eriod . It was Cha s e who o n e day pick ed up this pictures 'ue ﬁ gure from th e s tr eets

’ “ an d e e s e hi m m e of Munich knocking on Duv n ck door , cri d to Co ” e e th e e . on ov r, I hav a Turk, r al thing S K ETC H OF A T U R K 1 87 6

I N the year 1 87 8 Duveneck started a school in Munich , which became so very popular that soon two classes had to be formed of about thirty each , one of Americans and Eng ff lish , the other of di erent nationalities ; a n d when the desire to again see Italy took him back to Florence at the end of the following year (1 87 9) fully half of his students went with him . Thus his school was transplanted to the banks of the Arno , and the members soon established themselves in the social as well as the artistic circles of Florence as the “ Duve neck Boys . A live picture of this earnest but exuberant

’ group is given in W . D . H owells story of ” Florentine Life , Indian Summer , where they ” n l h r are called the I g e a t Boys . The breezy references to them are invested with a feeling

On e of interest and friendliness . of the char PORTRAIT OF J. FRAN K CURRIER 1 87 6 e e on e th e m e e This pow rful portrait of Curri r , of A rican p rsonali

’ es i n e e k m e e e e e es b e e e ti Munich at Duv n c s ti th r , d s rv to b tt r known

’ s m e e e e in thi country . Light is thrown on so of Curri r s f rv ntly dash ed -off im pressions by th e spirit of th e eyes as w e note th em in

‘ this portrait . K PORTRAIT OF J. FRAN C U RRI E R 1 87 6

FRANK DUVENECK 45

acters introduces them thus They were

’ v e here all last winter and they j ust got back .

’ ’ It s rather exciting for Florence . She gave a rapid sketch of the interesting exodus of a score of young painters from an art school at Munich under the head of the singular and fascinating genius by whose name they b e came known . They had their own school for a while in Munich and then they all came down into Italy in a body . They had their stu dio things with them , and they traveled third

class , and had the greatest fun . They were a sensation in Florence . They went everywhere and were such favorites . I hope they are g o ing to Such was the impression of them which Howells found in Florence when he went there the year after they had dis banded , and it should be remembered that the Florence of that day was a rallying place for the most fascinating people of Europe . The Duveneck Boys stayed together for about two years working in Florence in the 46 FRAN K DUVEN ECK winter and in Venice in the summer . Among

° W l x n r T . A e a d e w a ch them were John , John t

D eCam R olsh ov en man , Joseph p, Julius , Oliver

o Dennett Gr ver , Otto Bacher , Theodore Wen

Lou i s R i tter del , , Ross Turner, Harper Pen

n i n ton . g , Charles Forbes , George E Hopkins ,

Julian Story , Charles E . Mills , Albert Rein hart , Charles H . Freeman , Henry Rosenberg,

0 . John Anderson , Charles Abel Corwin , and

others . Oliver Dennett Grover , the youngest

of the group , in speaking about his colleagues

Tw a chtm an said that the advice of J ohn , of the Cincinnati contingent , one of the older

a ones , whose knowledge was wider, was p “ reci ated p next to that of the Old Man , as they lovingly denominated Duveneck . Then “ he continued : Joseph D eCam p was j ust

’ plain Joe in those days , the breeziest , cheek

- iest , most warm hearted Bohemian in Venice .

Full of life , energy , and ambition , he worked unceasingly and gave and took many a hard

R l h en knock . o s ov too was endowed by nature

e e e It e This h ad r calls Rub ns . is full of charact r , strong ly con

e e m . Th e u struct d , clos ly drawn , and of astonishing lu inosity br sh work is lim pid . RE D - HAIRE D MAN WIT H R U FF 1 87 6

FRANK DUVENECK 49 with the artistic temperament, making it espe ci ally di ﬂi cult for him to adapt himself to rou

of e tine work . Alexander , cours , was the born favorite and leader which he continued to be throughout his life . We always thought , had

Alexander not chosen art as his vocation , he might have become a great diplomat . I remem ber him at the last annual meeting of the N a ti on al Academy of Design at which he presided , and during the little while I could converse with him he took occasion to speak of student days , and to voice feelingly his sense of the obliga tion he and all of us were under to Duveneck ;

’ incidentally , also , recalling Sargent s beautiful estimate of him . The student days in Italy were all too short, but while they lasted they were more signiﬁcant, probably , than a simi lar period in the lives of most students , because more intensiﬁed , more concentrated . The usual student experiences of work and play , elation and dej ection , feast and famine , were ours , of course , but in addition to that, and owing to 50 FRAN K DUVEN ECK

peculiar circumstances and conditions , the ad vantage o f the intimate association and con stant companionship we enj oyed not only with our leader but also with his acquaintances and fellow artists , men and women from many lands , was unique and perhaps quite as valu able as any actual school work . We lived in adj oining rooms , dined in the same restaurant , é frequented the same caf s , worked and played together with an intimacy only possible to

that age and such a community of interests . The inspiration of this class was well epi to

’ m i z ed by Duveneck s old professor , Diez ; it ” was Work . It was his custom at the begin ning of the year to make an address to the class ,

: N and in closing his talk he always said ow,

’ ’ I don t want any geniuses in this class ; I don t care for pupils who claim an abundance of talent ; but what I do want is a crowd of good ” “ workers . This is the thought I have always ” tried to instil into my pupils , says Mr . Duve

M r . neck . Grover told me once at the time of THE COBBLER ’ S APPRENTICE 1 87 7 s i e- z e e e The This triking l f si canvas , in subj ct so lik Whistling ' i s et e e ffe e . e m th e th e l e Boy , y ntir ly di r nt Asid fro fact that ittl

’ m e th e e e e s e red th e od l for arli r work had black hair whil thi on s is ,

' di ﬁ eren ce e - e Th e in t chni'u e i s s elf evid ent . Whil in Whistling

e e e e e o f e th e e Boy young Duv n ck c nt r d all his att ntion upon h ad ,

e e e e em e e ee conv ying plan s and t xtur with r arkabl car and f ling, this

i s m e em e e canvas a or broad stat nt , all parts of it b ing boldly and

e m e n e e e s e . e s e o swiftly xpr s d C rtain pa sag s in it ak think of Man t ,

’ yet Duven eck had n ev er s een a n y of th e Fren ch master s works at

m e . Th e s e i n w as e e that ti canva , paint d Munich , originally sold th r

- e ﬁ v e s . v o n es s n th e m e e for tw nty dollar to Mr H li g , A rican Vic

m e i e . s e S s n o w Consul , was for a ti own d by Mr Jo ph transky , and in

th e e . e s . m e e coll ction of Mr Charl P Taft , In May of that sa y ar

18 e e s e e e e en e ( 7 7 ) Duv n ck and Cha l ft for V nic , Duv ck stopping in

e h e e th e Inn s bruck wh er paint d portrait of Susan B . Anthony .

FRAN K DUVENECK 53 his Duveneck lecture in Chicago : His clear ness of vision and surety of hand were simply masterly . At that time the rarity of his skill was not realized , by me at least . In my inno cence I imagined a few years of study and training would give one a similar certainty and

skill . During the years since that time I have watched the work of many painters , some of them great men , but for the quality of pure ” painter ability I have never known his equal . Already at the time of Duveneck ’s classes in

Italy , it was the brushwork instead of the care fully ﬁnished charcoal or crayon drawing that he insisted upon with his pupils as the real foundation of a pi cture ; he imparted the paint er ’s rather than the draughtsman ’s point of view in teaching the student , once the rough

outlines were suggested in charcoal , to cover

his canvas quickly with paint, boldly blocking

in the large masses .

In Florence , Duveneck found it hard to work

himself, owing to his being so well known , in 54 FRAN K DUVEN ECK fact pursued , as would appear to have been the case from Pennell ’s remark in his book on

Whistler, that he and Whistler used to run

- of- - é across Duveneck in little out the way caf s , where he was hiding from them . This lasted for two more years when Duveneck decided to disband his class , thinking it would be better for his group of really ﬁne students to go back to Munich or Paris on account of the oppor tun i ty of seeing what was going on through

exhibitions and the like . ' PO RTRAIT OF JOH N W . ALE ANDER 1879 Duv en eck took Alexand e r with hi m to Florence ah ead of his oth er

hi m ﬁ n d th e pupils to h elp right kind of studios . Onc e that ta s k was

m e e e th e e e e co pl t d and whil waiting for class , Duv n ck paint d this

m e e f e e ew . brilliant , g ntl anly portrait of young Al xand r in a hours POR T R A IT O F w ' JOHN . ALE AND E R I S7 9

58 FRAN K DUVENECK could not help but feel at once the difference of temperament between Whistler and Duveneck . Pennell also j ustly says in his book on Whi s tler that it is incredible that two etchers like Haden and Legros could have mistaken the

work of Duveneck for that of Whistler . The f di ference of upbuilding, of technique , and of touch certainly to us to - day appears striking

’ between the work of the two men . Duveneck s etch ings of the Riva degli Schiavoni were

made before Whistler made his in fact Otto H . ” Bacher , one of the Duveneck Boys in Venice, “ tells us in his book , With Whistler in Ven ” ice , that Whistler saw these etchings as Bacher

was helping Duveneck bite the plates , and that Whistler said with characteristic frankness “ ” Whistler must do the Riva also . Haden

wrote to Duveneck at the time , among other things about these etchings : In the meantime I assure you your works are the admiration of

all who come to our gallery . Pray do not stop your work in this direction ; we shall all be - K WELL AND WATE R TAN , ITALIAN VILLA 1 887

K OLD TOWN BROO , POLLING , BAVARIA 1 878 ’ e e s e es e e e ﬂe Duv n ck color, oft n r train d xc pt in his sh tints , bursts forth occas ionally in his landscap es in a surprisingly luminous m an

n er.

FRANK DUVENECK 6 1 much interested in seeing more of it and doing ” it all the honor we can . One year after the controversy Duveneck showed in London another group of etchings

' attra cted m uch which again interest, Haden testifying his appreciation by buying all that he

’ could get . All of Duveneck s Italian etchings convey his sense of architectural richness and with that the simple pictorial bigness , complete in every way , that characterizes his other work . His plates are superbly conceived and mas

rl te y in their draughtsmanship . The plate of the Rialto is among those that best convey Duveneck ’s personal force of conception and touch . Many of his plates have unfortunately been destroyed or lost and few prints are in existence . In those Venetian days Duveneck used to see a good deal of Whistler ; they were always friendly, but the two were too utterly unlike for the friendship to go beyond a certain point .

An amusing little story relates to this time . 62 FRAN K DUVENECK

Duveneck and De Camp , who were printing

one day , were sorely in need of paper . They asked Bacher to tell them where he got his

beautiful handmade paper . Bacher revealed the secret to the two startled artists in a w hi s per . Doubtful whether he was merely j oking, they nevertheless set out gamely for the mar ket, where to their satisfaction they did ﬁnd the exquisite paper which was used by a couple of women to wrap up butter . Whistler, who also heard about this , was not slow in laying in as

much of a s tock of the paper as he could get .

In 1 886 Duveneck was married to Miss Eliza

B oott B beth , of oston , herself a painter of dis

B oott tinction . Miss was born in Boston , and , having lost her mother while sti ll a very young child , was taken by her father to Florence , to live with two of her aunts . Later she went to Paris to study painting with Couture and lived with his family . At the age of eighteen she came to America and studied with William

e e Th e m e e th Bath d in th e sunshin of outdoors . for xpr ssion and e bru s h - work r eﬂect th e inﬂuence upon hi m of the mod ern French

’ paint er s point of vi ew and m ethod . FLORE NTI N E F LOWE R G IRL 1 887

66 FRAN K DUVENECK f Munich , but gladly o fered to criticise her work

on his return . The sequel to this story was their

engagement which , however, did not result in

marriage until nearly seven years later . They were married in Paris in 1886 and spent the two brief years before her untimely death , in

Florence , in a villa on the crest of a hill over

r looking the city . She died in Pa is and lies

buried in the Allori Cemetery in Florence ,

where the memorial ﬁgure in bronze , which

Duveneck created for it, marks the spot . A

son , Frank , survives her .

Mrs . Duveneck possessed great talent . Her

- water colors and canvases , among them pow f l ' er u studies of ﬁgures and landscapes , but f chieﬂy of still life , place her without e fort

among artists of achievement . SIESTA 1 887 m Th e e Notic e th e sup erb feeling of co pl et e r est . und rstanding of

m th e e z e a re e e ee m m e for , r ali ation of w ig ht too vid nt to n d co nt ; in

th e s e Th e s e color painting ab olut ly glows . canva was paint d in Flor ” e e th e m e e th e s m e a s th e e e e G l. nc , od l b ing a of Flor ntin Flow r ir

Th e e e h e pictur was ac'uir d by t e Qu en City Club of Cincinnati .

U N K D VE EC returned to his old home , Cin

’ ci n n ati , after his wife s death , and there he has since lived . From this time , his vitality went less into his own work and more into that of others , yet his versatile power was demonstrated when he made the superb me

coO erati on morial and when , with the p of

B arn h orn Clement J . , he made the statue of

Emerson , now in Emerson Hall at Harvard .

The bust portrait of Dr . Charles W . Eliot also belongs to that time . In the spring of 8 1 94Duveneck spent two months in Spain . Most of his time there was occupied in the

Prado , where he copied Velasquez , the works “ he chose being the Portrait of the In ” “ fanta Margarita , the Equestrian Portrait of ” “ Prince D . Baltasar Carlos , Portrait of King ” “ Philip IV , in a Hunting Suit , Portrait of ” “ King Philip IV, of Advanced Age , and The 7 0 FRAN K DUVENECK

Idiot of Coria . His latest work of importance

i in painting was an mmense mural decoration ,

1 started in 90 4and completed in 1 90 9 . It was

’ given in memory of his mother to St . Mary s

Cathedral in Covington , Kentucky .

The most comprehensive exhibition , outside

’ of Cincinnati , ever made of Duveneck s work

- was , as I have indicated , his one man gallery at the San Francisco Exposition in 1 9 15 . It included thirty oil paintings , twelve Venetian and one Florentine etching, and a replica of the Memorial . This replica was taken from the marble copy in the Boston Museum of

Fine Arts . In the group of paintings was one of the earliest Munich canvases . It was a por

of trait a man with a red fez, its quiet, forceful grasp of character arousing at once a good deal of discussion among Munich artists . The i “ most mportant document of that time , The ” 1 8 1 Old Schoolmaster , painted in 7 , was not included in that collection . It was exhibited i 1 8 n Boston in 75 , and sold for one hundred

’ Duven eck s etchings a re of th e sam e bre adth and vigor as his

hi m Th e on e e paintings . For Riva is of unusual d licacy .

7 4 FRAN K DUVENECK

“ ing to us to this very day . Put it down , was the precept Duveneck always had ready for his pupils how completely he realized its meaning in the painting of this urchin , a masterpiece by a young man barely twenty - four years old ' “ ” In the Woman with a Fan , which belongs to the following year, the dignity of arrange ment , but especially the study of the head , its

tw o soft ﬂesh colors and texture , with the only strongly deﬁned accents , the dark eyes , is truly superb . This was one of the portraits sold orig i n ally for three hundred dollars from his Boston exhibition . The same year he painted the por f L ff o oe tz . trait Anybody , but especially those

b e who paint themselves , will ﬁnd it hard to lieve that while there may have been some pre

n vio s preparation of the canvas , this beautifully complete piece of painting was done in one sitting , lasting all day and to the point of ex h au sti on of both painter and sitter . This was one of the portraits that the German Govern ment indirectly tried to buy for the National THE RIALTO , VENICE 1 883 ’ Charact eri s tic of th e br eadth and dignity of Duven eck s whole s e

e ri s of Italian etchings .

FRANK DUVENECK 7 7

Gallery in Berlin , but was not able to get . There are many portraits of this ﬁrst Munich period

’ of Duveneck s that he has lost track of. He used to paint anybody then who came along and put “ twenty marks down on the table . The U n

’ ﬁnished Portrait Study of a girl s head , belong

to 1 8 ing the same year , 7 3 , is interesting not only as a piece of superb painting, but because of important associations . It was painted in

1 8 Munich , in 7 3 , the year of the cholera , of f which Wilhelm von Kaulbach , the o ﬁcial head of the Royal Academy , was one of the victims . The sketch of this girl was the work of a couple of hours . The model was supposed to come back the next day , but when Duveneck arrived for his sitting he was informed that she had died during the night of the cholera . I dare say , in regard to the depth of expression in this head , that if the imagination were given rein it would seem as though the artist must have been spurred by some sense of her impending fate , or as though in her that quickened spiritual 7 8 FRAN K DUVEN ECK life ' which sometimes indicates approach ing death was wide awake and looking out . Dietz was so delighted with the sketch that

Duveneck gave it to him . But it marked the close of his stay in Munich , for he immediately left for America . The portrait of Frank Currier belongs to the

i Art Institute in Chicago . The expression of th s intensely interesting painter is one of strong intellectual life and power, making us easily see the creator of his imposing “ Approaching ” i 1 8 Storm in the C ncinnati Museum . In 74the portrait of Mr . Adams was painted in Cincin nati . It is about the ﬁnest of his documents “ . 1 b 10 1 s of that year To 87 5 1 9 1 g The Turkish

‘ Page T h e intensely alive portrait of John

Al e d . W . xan er comes several years later The two p aintings by Duveneck in the Boston Tav

o ern Club were riginally given to Vinton , the

i a n d art st art critic , who lent them and after wards gave them to the club . One is a three quarters length portrait of John Landis , a

Th e m e m e th e e th e M n original od l , ad in Cincinnati , is prop rty of

Th e s th e z e s e s eum . photograph hows bron copy in tall d on h er grave “ ” th e m S n e e e th e em e e in Ca po a to d gli Allori in Flor nc , c t ry in which Arnold Bocklin r e s t s . Th e M em orial w a s exhibit ed in th e Paris Salon of 1 895 and awarded ” e e th en an Honorabl M ntion .

e e i s m e th e s e m e s Th r a arbl copy in Bo ton Mus u of Fin Art , and copi es from th e m arbl e a re own ed by th e P ennsylvania Acad emy of

e s th e e th e S an s Fin Art , Chicago Art Institut , and Franci co Art

e m th e m e ar e th e A s s ociation . Copi s fro original od l in M etropolitan

e m N ew Y th e e e . Mus u , ork , and John H rron Art Institut , Indianapolis

82 FRAN K DUVENECK

h a s honors and medals , he little to say of them . We know, however, that he is a member of the American Institute of Arts and Letters and the National Academy .

’ A typical example of Duveneck s nai ve way of doing things is well illustrated in the following “ incident . After painting a canvas of Gl ou ces ” 1 1 ter Docks , in the summer of 9 5 , he was offered ﬁfteen hundred dollars for i t by some N ” . o one who saw it there , said Duveneck ,

“ ’ I ve got to take that home to the boys and

’ show them that I ve been working . He ex hi b i ted it in Cincinnati at the Art Club E x hi b i tion , and for the sake of the commission , which would beneﬁt the Club , he put a price of only eight hundred dollars on it . The picture was immediately sold to the University Club . At once Duveneck turned around and himself bought several of the larger canvases in the exhibition , donating them to one of the high schools in Cincinnati .

I will also quote Mrs . E lizabeth Robins Pen Cha rma : De ar t me t J r i n p n u y ,

D ar t me F e Ar t s ep nt of in .

Dear Si r

we t he r e r es en t at es r e t r es , p iv o f fo ign coun i a cting upon t he I nt er nat ional Jur y of Awar ds in t he De ar me t F e Ar s do her e as k ur d p t n of in t , by yo kin con si der ati on of t he f ollowi n g r ecom en dat i on un ami ouel y a dopt ed by u s in a meet ing spe ci ally c alled f or t hi s r s e pu po .

Wher eas t he m r e he s e r et r s e t e , co p n iv o p c iv ' o e Mr Fr a Du e e s wo r s s c ll ction of . nk v n ck k in oil , et ching an d s culpt ur e b r ought t oget her her e has uh ‘ 'ue st ionabl y pr ove n to b e t he r eal sur pr i se of the whol e Amer a Se o t he Pal ace F e Ar t s an d w er eas ic n cti n in of in , , h , t ho s e work s hav e a s t oni shed a n d delight ed al l t ho se h t h er t o a a t e w hi s e w r wh e r m i un c 'u in d ith lif o k , il confi ing t he Opinion of tho s e t su' n ho have long held hi m in t he h es est eem h a s an ar t st an d a s a man we t he igh t , bot i , , or e ur or s t he I t er at a Jur of Awa r d ee f i gn j on n n ion l y , f l that s ome s peci al r ecognit i on of hi s di st ingui shed t r ut t o Amer a ar t s u b e awar ed ur Fr an con ib ion ic n ho ld d . k D e e an d we her ew t h r e mme d t at a S e a Me a uv n ck , i co n h p ci l d l of H n r be s ru hi s h o or an d awar de hi m o o t ck in n d .

we b e t o r ema g in ,

Ver r e s e t y p c fully ,

(Sig n er s )

84 FRAN K DUVENECK And he never has been without a devoted

following . The artists and connoisseurs of his own generation have continued to do h i m

honor . His pupils , old and new , in Cincinnati

or wherever they may be , are included in what “ ” he likes to call his Family . Of late years he

has traveled very little , seldom leaving his Cincinnati studio and his home in Covington

for any great length of time . His closest ar ti sti c companions , since he became head of the

1 0 0 faculty of the Cincinnati Art Academy in 9 ,

co - have been his workers , particularly his inti f o . mate friends long standing , Clement J Barn

horn and the late L . H . Meakin , their studios

having been together in the Museum , and their j oint labors spent in developing its 0 0 1

lections .