Otto Müller (painter)
Otto Müller (born November 21, 1898 in Cröllwitz , † December 9, 1979 in Merseburg ) was a German painter and graphic artist .
Life and work
parents house
Otto Müller was born on November 21, 1898 in Cröllwitz , which has belonged to Halle (Saale) since 1900, as the eldest child of the locomotive driver Karl Christoph Friedrich Otto Müller (1874–1951) and his wife Anna Müller, nee. Schmidt (1876–1923), born. He had three siblings. In his childhood Otto Müller was often in Trotha with his paternal grandmother.
education
After attending eight-year elementary school in Halle, his father had planned for him to train as an electrician; but because of his insufficient height he was rejected. He then learned the profession of lithographer at his own request from 1913 to 1917 . During this time he attended evening courses in drawing and painting at the State Municipal School of Crafts, which later became the Burg Giebichenstein School of Applied Arts in Halle.
In 1918 Otto Müller was called up for military service in the First World War in the 18th foot artillery regiment Kirchenhain on the western front in France. The war experiences shaped his pacifist attitude throughout his life . Thanks to his sometimes Schwejkian behavior, Otto Müller achieved that he was allowed to draw while he was on duty and that he was entrusted with caring for the military horses as his main task.
After his discharge from military service in 1919, he began studying painting at the Burg Giebichenstein School of Applied Arts. From 1919 on he was a student of Professor Erwin Hahs in the newly established painting class . Since those early years of study, Otto Müller had a close friendship with his fellow students Paul Zilling (1900–1953) and Helmut Schröder (1910–1974). In 1927 he moved together with Schröder to the class of the newly appointed professor for painting and graphics Charles Crodel . During the years of his apprenticeship at Crodel, Müller was friends with Kurt Bunge .
Both teachers, Erwin Hahs and Charles Crodel, influenced Müller's artistic development: Inspired by both teachers, the precise study of nature was for him the basis of all artistic creation throughout his life. Müller also owed his teacher, Hahs, the training of his formal expression in terms of a constructive picture composition up to abstraction . Hahs' art theoretical discussions, however, he preferred the kind of Charles Crodel, who encouraged his students to develop their own painting style while working on the motif. The loosely composed, often brightly colored Crodel pictures gave Müller new painterly inspiration.
In addition to his enthusiasm for painting, Otto Müller also found pleasure in musical improvisations: from a young age he played the violin, in the castle chapel the banjo and later on the harmonica with his artist colleague Helmut Schröder.
In order to earn the money for his training at the Burg Giebichenstein School of Applied Arts, Otto Müller had to interrupt his studies several times and for long periods of time. 1920 to 1922 and 1924 to 1925 he worked as a decorative painter in the Leunawerken . There he witnessed the March fighting in 1921 first hand . In the economically difficult years 1923 to 1924 he went on the roller . In Göttingen he worked as a stage painter at the Deutsches Theater. His journey took him to southern Germany, where he found work in Kochel am See building the Walchensee power station . In Munich he visited the art collections of the major galleries ( Alte and Neue Pinakothek ). In 1929 he passed the examination as a journeyman painter with the decorative painter O. Möllhoff in Halle.
Work and family life until 1945
After completing his studies, Otto Müller applied in vain to work as a porcelain painter at the State Porcelain Manufactory in Meißen . Like his friend Kurt Bunge, he was also interested in restoration . However, when he was given the position of restorer at the State Museum of Prehistory , Otto Müller began work in the paint factory "Technical Chemicals and Compagnie GmbH Halle" in 1930. He worked there until 1941 as a laboratory assistant and department head.
In 1936 Otto Müller married Senta-Luise Demmer; In the same year the daughter Thekla was born, in 1937 the son Otto was born. In the Second World War , Müller was drafted to the Siegfried Line from 1938 to 1940 . From 1941 to 1945 he worked as a technical draftsman at Siebel Flugzeugwerke in Halle and was therefore no longer called up for military service.
Work and family life from 1945
From July 1, 1945 Otto Müller worked as a freelance painter and graphic artist in Halle. In 1946 he was accepted into the "Association of Visual Artists" (VBK), which was built up by Richard Horn and Karl Völker . During this time, he earned his living primarily with visual advertising (e.g. with cinema posters).
In 1947 the family moved into the barracks built as a military hospital and now partly used as accommodation for artist families in Fischer-von-Erlach-Straße 14. The following artist colleagues lived in the same barrack with their families: Meinolf Splett (1911–2009), Fritz Stehwien (1914–2008), Clemens Kindling (1916–1992), Mrs. Braun (on the recommendation of the architect Hanns Hopp ), Kurt Völker (brother of Karl Völker). Richard Horn, Karl Erich Müller , Herbert Lange (1920–2001) and Helmut Schröder lived in the neighboring barracks .
Like his friends Helmut Schröder, Fritz Freitag (1915–1977) and Karl Erich Müller, Otto Müller was also a member of the Halle artists' association Die Fähre (1947–1949), which Fritz Baust (1912–1982) took over. Otto Müller took part in the exhibitions inspired by the ferry with landscapes, animal and nude drawings. However, Otto Müller only turned to the topics from the production facilities, which were intensively dealt with in a programmatic way by other “ferry” artists such as Karl Erich Müller, Herbert Lange and Willi Sitte during this time (from 1950).
In March 1948 Otto Müller exhibited together with Charles Crodel , Kurt Bunge and Karl Rödel (1907–1982) in the Henning Gallery in Halle. For his artistic contributions he was described by Richard Horn in the introduction to the exhibition catalog as “the most interesting personality of the four exhibiting artists”. With three graphic works from 1947 Otto Müller was the only Halle artist (besides Willi Sitte) to be represented at the all-German graphic exhibition organized by the German Cultural Council in Munich in 1956 in the Städtische Galerie and Lenbach-Galerie. One of the main jury members was Charles Crodel, who had taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich since 1952 .
In 1954 Otto Müller and his family moved into the first new residential building in Halle since 1945, to what was then Stalinallee 57b (later Leninallee 179 and since 1990 Merseburger Straße 127). From 1951 to around 1964 he worked in production companies in agriculture, mining and industry at the request of various clients or within the framework of several weeks of work stays organized by the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR (VBK) . In 1951 and 1953 graphic works were created by the machine-tractor station (MTS) in Volkstedt near Eisleben. In 1955 Müller worked on agricultural motifs on the LPG Eismannsdorf. In 1957 he made tempera works in the Gronau salt and potash mine near Bernburg . 1958 followed by work stays in the machine factory in Halle. In this context, the oil painting Der Maschinenformer was created (today owned by the Moritzburg Foundation - Art Museum of the State of Saxony-Anhalt in Halle). In 1959 he worked at the Karsdorf cement works . The maize triptych painted in 1962 was not accepted by the client. It can be assumed that the dominant depiction of maize in its various stages of ripeness in spring, summer and autumn did not leave the depiction of agriculture the desired space. In 1964 Otto Müller worked for the FDGB contract work "Young Animal Breeder" on the LPG Merbitz.
In the 1950s Otto Müller often visited the artist couple Herbert Kitzel and Mareile Kitzel as well as Hilmar and Heidi Manthey, who lived in Talstrasse 23 (today the gallery of the art association “Talstrasse” ) . There he met Otto Möhwald around 1957 ; In the years 1958 to 1959 they drew together between Ammendorf and Buna as well as in Dobis near Wettin or based on a model in the Möhwald apartment. From 1959 to 1966, Müller was a member of the “Painters and Graphic Artists” section of the VBK in the Halle district, and in this function initiated studio visits to artist colleagues. Since the 1960s, he met other colleagues regularly for life drawing in the Moritzburg . In 1963 he went on a study trip with Karl Erich Müller and Gerhard Geyer to Prague .
Last creative period, 1963–1979
On the occasion of his 65th birthday, he was awarded the City of Halle Art Prize in 1963 for his complete artistic work and the tile painting in the school building at the Frohe Zukunft . In this context, his work was also honored in an exhibition in the Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg, today's art museum. In his preface to the catalog, the director at the time, Heinz Schönemann, wrote: “You could call him, who himself was a student at Burg Giebichenstein, a silent teacher of the Halle painters. Because so much that we enjoy in their works ultimately came from him. His rich imagination, his thoroughness and his technical knowledge, his open eye for the charms of our life, have always been a role model for his colleagues. "
Although Otto Müller never held a teaching position at the art college, he was highly valued by his colleagues and many art friends as the “old master of Halle painting” because of his life's work as an artist. For example, B. the professors of the Burg Giebichenstein art college Karl Müller (1888–1972) and Willi Sitte teach their students graphic works by Otto Müller. Since the end of the 1950s, art-loving young people sought to get close to him and developed into professional artists through intensive discussions and joint studies. These include Falko Warmt (at Müller 1960–1963), Karl-Heinz Köhler and Wolfgang Grunwald. What they had in common was that they had not completed a direct degree at the art college, but were already working as chemists, cartographers and teachers.
Upon reaching retirement age, Otto Müller was relieved of the need to earn his daily living by doing contract work. Since the second half of the 1960s, Otto Müller devoted himself to depicting plants, in particular portraying girls using the wax technique . After the granddaughter Claudia was born in 1967, numerous portraits of babies were made in oil. In the 1970s Otto Müller went sketching with his artist friend Karl Erich Müller in Halle, Merseburg and in the Saalkreis. As a result of these studies, several hundred drawings and watercolors were created that document the images of the old town that were about to be demolished. A large number of graphic cityscapes are now in the Hallesches Stadtarchiv.
Wolfgang Barton (1932–2012), Bernhard Michel (born 1939), Bernt Wilke (born 1943) and Fotis Zaprasis (1940–2002) belonged to the circle of younger Halle artists who were friends with Otto Müller and valued by him. In 1977 the gallery of the state art trade of the GDR opened on Hansering in Halle with an Otto Müller sales exhibition . The interest was so great that almost all of the exhibits were sold. On December 9, 1979 Otto Müller died of a serious lung disease in the Carl von Basedow Clinic in Merseburg . His written estate is in the SLUB Dresden .
Works
Otto Müller mastered a large number of graphic and painting techniques:
- Drawing : Pencil, colored and sometimes felt-tip pen drawings, red chalk drawings, sepia drawings (with pen), ink drawings (with brush), watercolor
- Painting : tempera , wax painting , oil painting
- self-developed mixing techniques
From a young age he attached great importance to the quality of the workmanship. He gained knowledge in this field throughout his life, starting with his apprenticeship as a lithographer, then studying "materials science" at the Burg Giebichenstein School of Applied Arts, while working in the paint factory and practicing art.
Topics that run through Otto Müller's entire oeuvre are depictions of people (especially portraits and nudes), of plants, animals and landscapes. His grass and flower pictures aroused attention and admiration during his studies at the Burg Giebichenstein School of Applied Arts. B. his teacher Charles Crodel. In recognition and to differentiate himself from other artists of the same name, Otto Müller was therefore often called "flowers" - or "grass millers". Since his freelance work as an artist from 1945 onwards, he has worked on certain topics particularly intensively over a number of years:
- 1947–1949: Animal studies, mainly as drawings
- 1951–1964: Technology, Industry and Agriculture
- 1963–1973: portraits (girls, babies, children, self-portraits), mainly using the wax technique
- 1973–1979: Urban landscapes, mainly in watercolor and tempera
Although Otto Müller had to take part in both world wars, he did not depict the horrors of war and the destruction caused by war. An order from the Halle District Council, which was urgently needed for financial reasons, failed because it portrayed soldiers, but did not depict their weapons. This expresses his conviction that his art should show people what is beautiful and thereby make them better. He did not enter into competition with other artists who tried to arouse the viewer with repulsive representations in their political art. Typical of Müller's style are e.g. B. the cityscapes from the post-war period (e.g. 1947 On the Outskirts ) and those of the demolition districts in the 1970s.
Otto Müller worked both representationally and abstractly. Abstract works were created during his studies with Erwin Hahs and in the first phase of his freelance work after 1945. While Otto rejected his abstract works from the 1920s as mere imitations of other artists, the works of the post-war phase are something of their own in that they contain animal and abstract representations of people into strongly colored surfaces with a few representational details. Regardless of this, what the artist said in an interview with Christine Mücklisch applies to Müller's work as a whole: "... but my intention is to paint from nature, because there is more to see than I can think of myself."
Exhibitions (selection)
- 1928: Exhibition of student work by Otto Müller in the Red Tower Hall
- 1934: Participation in the exhibition "Hallesche Kunst" at the Anhaltischer Kunstverein Dessau
- 1939: Winner of the competition "Create beautiful local art" in Halle
- 1946: Participation in the first German art exhibition in Berlin after the war
- 1948: Participation in the exhibition "The world in the veil of color: Carl Crodel, Kurt Bunge, Otto Müller, Karl Rödel" in the gallery Henning Halle
- 1948: Participation in the exhibition "Das Aktbild" in the Marktschlößchen gallery in Halle, organized by the Halle artists' association "Die Fähre"
- 1949: Exhibition of animal drawings and pictures by Otto Müller, organized by the Halle artists' association "Die Fähre"
- 1951: Exhibition of graphic studies in the machine-tractor station (MTS) Volkstedt
- 1956: Participation in the all-German graphics exhibition organized by the German Cultural Council in the Städtische Galerie and Lenbach-Galerie in Munich
- 1963–1964: for the 65th birthday: Exhibition of the complete works in the Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg Halle
- 1967, 1972, 1977: Participation in the art exhibitions of the GDR in Dresden
- 1968: For his 70th birthday, exhibition in the “Small Gallery” hall
- since 1969: Participation in the district art exhibitions
- 1976: Exhibition in the Carl von Basedow Clinic in Merseburg
- 1977: Opening of the gallery of the state art trade of the GDR on Hansering in Halle with an exhibition by Otto Müller
- 1977: Exhibition in the gallery at Sachsenplatz Leipzig (newspaper reviews Sächsisches Tageblatt December 28, 1977, LVZ December 29, 1977)
- 1978–1979: For his 80th birthday: Exhibition in the Marktschlößchen gallery in Halle
- 1979–1980: Exhibition "Art from Halle" in the gallery "Spektrum" (later "Schmidt-Rottluff") in Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz)
- 1979–1980: Participation in the exhibition “Art from the GDR, Halle District” at the Kunstverein Hannover
- posthumous solo exhibitions
- 1979–1980: Exhibition from the holdings of the Halle city archive (city views) in the small gallery of the Physiological-Chemical Institute of the University of Halle
- 1980: Exhibition (painting and graphics) in the culture house of the Mansfeld miners "Wilhelm Pieck" Eisleben (Mansfeld Gallery)
- 1988: Exhibition (painting and graphics) in the district museum Aschersleben
- 1998: On the 100th birthday: Exhibition “Halle-Bilder” of the Hallescher Kunstverein e. V. in the foyer of the Halle Opera House
- posthumous group exhibitions
- 1980: “Liberated Art. Painting, graphics, sculpture 1945–1949 ”in the Moritzburg State Gallery in Halle
- 1985: "Collection of hand drawings of the GDR" in the art gallery Gera
- 1989: "Hallesche Künstlervereinigung 'Die Fähre'" in the Marktschlößchen in Halle
- 1990–1991: “The tension between Halle. Seen by artists. ”In the State Gallery Moritzburg Halle
- 1993: “Halle in the post-war period. Paintings, graphics and sculptures from private ownership. ”In the university museum“ Burse zur Tulpe ”in Halle
- 1998: “Ostracized formalists. Art from Halle / Saale 1945–1963 ”in the state representation of Saxony-Anhalt in Bonn and in the Kunstverein Talstraße e. V. in Halle
- 1998: “Art from Halle's private property” in the Kunstverein Halle in Lerchenfeldstrasse
- 2007: “Herbert Kitzel (1928–1978) and friends. Die Zeit in Halle ”in the Künstlerhaus 188 in Halle, Hallescher Kunstverein e. V.
literature
- Ingrid Schulze: An old master of Halle painting: Otto Müller on his 70th birthday . In: Fine arts . No. 1/1969 , p. 23-26 .
- Wolfgang Hütt : World of Art: Artists in Halle . Henschelverlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, Berlin 1977 (With twenty colored plates and thirty-eight monochrome illustrations.).
- Christine Mücklisch: Position of Otto Müller in painting in Halle with special consideration of the 50s: Diploma thesis . Karl Marx University Leipzig, Section Culture and Art Studies, Leipzig 1979.
- Ingrid Schulze: Fine arts in Halle between 1945 and 1950: Contributions to the history of art in the Halle district: Issue 1 . Hall 1986.
- Rolf Jakob: Late memories of an art and antiques collector of the GDR era . Hall 2006.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ingrid Schulze, 1969.
- ↑ Mscr. Dresden. App. 2391, 1-512.
- ↑ Otto Müller in an interview. Mücklisch p. 75.
- ↑ Mücklisch, p. 70.
Web links
- Literature by and about Otto Müller in the catalog of the German National Library
- Painting by Otto Müller on museum-digital.de
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Müller, Otto |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German painter and graphic artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 21, 1898 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cröllwitz |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 9, 1979 |
| Place of death | Merseburg |