Clara Müller (painter)

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Clara Müller: Self-Portrait , 1905

Clara Müller (born March 16, 1862 in Densbüren , Aargau ; † February 18, 1929 in Bergamo , Italy ; hometown Hirschthal ) was a Swiss painter . She is known for her portraits , flower still lifes and landscape paintings .

Life

Clara Müller was born in Densbüren in 1862 as the daughter of the pastor and prison director Johann Rudolf Müller and spent part of her childhood in Lenzburg . Her father, a pastor in Aargau, was committed to reforms in the prison system in the new Lenzburg prison and is considered a pioneer of humane prison systems.

In 1872 the family moved to Bergamo, where Clara stood out with her talent for painting. At the age of 16 she received a state scholarship and entered the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo under Professor Enrico Scuri (1806-1884). When he died, she became a private student of the portrait painter Cesare Tallone (1853-1919). She became a sought-after portrait painter, first in Bergamo, then in Geneva and Zurich . At the age of 26 she showed her sister's portrait in 1888 at the Esposizione Nazionale in Bologna . She went to England for further training . In 1887 she worked in London in the studio of John Singer Sargent (1856–1925). Now she became known in the circles of the English aristocracy and received several portrait commissions, for example for the child portrait of Ruby Churchill, a niece of the Duke of Marlborough.

From 1903 to 1905 she was in Munich , where she studied the old masters and modern painting. Her portrait of her mother was exhibited at the International Exhibition in the Glass Palace in 1905. She met the animal and genre painter Julius Adam (1852–1913) through her artist friend Victor Wagner . In Munich she was also more and more influenced by impressionism . When she returned to Bergamo, she lived a secluded life for her painting.

Her posthumous work was in the possession of the great niece and artist Clara Luisa Demar , who donated it to the Museum Burghalde Lenzburg in 2019 . The museum has set up a Clara Müller cabinet .

reception

The Museum zu Allerheiligen Schaffhausen writes: "Clara Müller is one of those painters who, despite the high quality of their work, have been denied lasting recognition."

In the artistic work of Clara Müller shows a gifted portrait painter. The pictures of relatives and portraits of children are among the most beautiful things she has created, according to the Lenzburger Nachrichten .

Marc Philip Seidel, director of the Museum Burghalde Lenzburg, said on the occasion of the 2019 exhibition: "At first glance you could see the super quality in these pictures". "This painter deserves a much bigger exhibition."

Works (selection)

  • Portrait of Sister Albertina , 1888

  • Portrait of the father Johann Rudolf Müller

  • niece

  • Ruby Churchill, niece of the Duke of Marlborough

Exhibitions

  • 1888: Esposizione Nazionale, Bologna: Portrait of the sister Albertina.
  • 1896: National Art Exhibition of Switzerland, Geneva.
  • 1905: Glaspalast Munich : picture of the mother.
posthumously
  • 2013: Museum zu Allerheiligen Schaffhausen, Albert Anker and Realism in Switzerland : Self-portrait and portrait of the sister Albertina.
  • 2019: Museum Burghalde Lenzburg, The return of the painter Clara Müller (1862–1929) to Lenzburg .

literature

  • Rivista di Bergamo. Issue 9, 1931.
  • L'Eco di Bergamo. October 21, 1931.
  • Pictures of life from Aargau 1803–1953. Aarau 1953.
  • Biographical Lexicon of Aargau 1803–1957. Aarau 1958.
  • Alfred Bolliger: Clara Müller von Hirschthal (1862–1929). In: Argovia , annual journal of the Historical Society of the Canton of Aargau. Vol. 68-69, 1958, pp. 558-559 ( digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Clara Müller  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Return of a misunderstood painter. In: Lenzburger Bezirksanzeiger. December 4, 2019, accessed February 4, 2020.
  2. ↑ a b c Big donation for the Burghalde Museum. In: Lenzburger Nachrichten. November 27, 2019, accessed February 4, 2020.
  3. ↑ a b Albert Anker and Realism in Switzerland. Museum Allerheiligen Schaffhausen, press. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  4. ↑ Vernissage - The return of the painter Clara Müller (1862–1929) to Lenzburg . Museum Burghalde Lenzburg. Retrieved February 3, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Müller, Clara
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss painter
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1862
PLACE OF BIRTH Densbueren , Aargau , Switzerland
DATE OF DEATH February 18, 1929
Place of death Bergamo , Italy