# Head of an Old Man

**Frank Duveneck** (born Covington, KY 1848-died Cincinnati, OH 1919)  
ca. 1877-1879  
oil on canvas  
21 7/8 x 18 1/8 in. (55.5 x 46.1 cm)

Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1929.6.44. [The museum's record](https://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=7653).

## About this work

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.

_Text from the Smithsonian American Art Museum._

Frank Duveneck painted this in about 1877-1879, aged about 29. It is now at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Frank Duveneck](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/frank-duveneck)

born Covington, KY 1848-died Cincinnati, OH 1919

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- The artist was about 29
- Real size: about 22 × 18 in (56 × 46 cm). The 16 × 20 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: Older people, Figure male
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1879.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1879/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/head-of-an-old-man-si-saam-1929-6-44).