The Burgermeister

Born in Kentucky to German immigrants, Frank Duveneck studied painting in Europe. He learned to imitate the work of Dutch and Spanish Golden Age artists such as Frans Hals and Diego Velázquez. He later returned to America and established a new style of painting with his close friend William Merritt Chase. He and his followers, called the “Duveneck Boys,” traveled internationally, painting portraits and seascapes. This painting of a burgomaster (or mayor) is an early work that shows Hals’s influence. Duveneck used color to convey form, which gives his paintings a lively feel.