Study of a Woman's Head c. 1879 - 1880

Curator: Frank Duveneck's "Study of a Woman's Head" at the Harvard Art Museums captures a fascinating, yet ambiguous, subject. Editor: The raw brushwork gives it an immediacy. Look at the thickness of the paint. It feels almost sculpted, doesn't it? Curator: It does. Consider the context of the late 19th century, when Duveneck painted this; portraiture served to reinforce social hierarchies. What happens when a study like this appears? How does it destabilize those traditions? Editor: The dark palette and visible brushstrokes speak to an interest in the physical process of painting, which was definitely going against the grain at that time. Curator: Absolutely. And her gaze seems to challenge the viewer directly, refusing the passive role often assigned to women in art. Editor: Seeing the labor so explicitly shifts our focus, doesn’t it? Food for thought.