Alfredo Müller (June 30, 1869 – February 7, 1939) was a Franco-Italian painter and printmaker of Swiss nationality. As a painter from

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

, he might have belonged to the group of the Postmacchiaioli, together with Mario Puccini,

Oscar Ghiglia Oscar Alberto Ghiglia (born 13 August 1938) is an Italian classical guitarist. Biography Early years Born in Livorno to an artistic family – his father and grandfather were both famed painters, his mother an accomplished pianist – Oscar Ghig ...

Plinio Nomellini Plinio Nomellini (1866–1943) was an Italian painter. Biography Nomellini was born in Livorno in 1866. In 1885 he enrolled at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under Giovanni Fattori and formed friendships with Telemaco Sign ...

Ulvi Liegi Ulvi Liegi (born Luigi Mosè Levi; 1858–1939) was an Italian painter and printmaker. Part of the Post-macchiaioli movement, he painted various cityscapes of Livorno and depictions of Livornese daily life. Biography Luigi Levi, who signed h ...

, Giovanni Bartolena, and others, but he is a disciple of the Florentine portraitist

Michele Gordigiani Michele Gordigiani (Florence, May 29, 1835 – Florence, October 7, 1909) was an Italian painter, known best for his portraits. Biography Gordigiani was the son of a famous Florentine musician. He first studied at the Academy in Florence un ...

. As a French engraver, he was close to

Francis Jourdain Francis Jourdain (2 November 1876 – 31 December 1958) was a painter, furniture maker, interior designer, maker of ceramics, and other decorative arts, and a left-wing political activist. Early years Francis Jourdain was born on 2 November 18 ...

Manuel Robbe Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...

, Richard Ranft, Eugène Delâtre,

Théophile Steinlen Théophile Alexandre Steinlen (November 10, 1859 – December 13, 1923), was a Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker. Biography Born in Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-R ...

Biography

Müller was born in Livorno to a wealthy

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

family involved in the international cotton and coffee trades. At the age of 15, he began studying art in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

with the masters Giuseppe Ciaranfi and

of the Academy of Fine Arts. There he became friends for life with Edoardo Gordigiani, the son of Michele, and Egisto Fabbri, a Tuscan-American. In 1886, as a young painter, he participated in the First Exhibition of Fine Arts of

, together with established painters such as

Giovanni Fattori Giovanni Fattori (September 6, 1825August 30, 1908) was an Italian artist, one of the leaders of the group known as the Macchiaioli. He was initially a painter of historical themes and military subjects. In his middle years, inspired by the Barbi ...

and

Silvestro Lega Silvestro Lega (8 December 1826 – 21 September 1895) was an Italian Realism (art), realist painter. He was one of the leading artists of the Macchiaioli and was also involved with the Mazzini movement. Biography He was born in Modigliana, nea ...

. In 1889, he exhibited two of his paintings at the Universal Exhibition in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he discovered

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

. This moment represented a turning point in the career of the young painter, as he was always concerned with colors and ''vibrations of light''. After his return to

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, his paintings, which now reflected the influence of

, sparked debate for their overly French character. At the same moment, the failure of the Bank of Livorno provoked the ruin of his father's house, and a few years later Müller emigrated to

, eventually settling in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

. He made friends in the social circle of artists, writers and musicians, becoming acquainted in particular with

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...

, but also with

Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). Hi ...

and Cézanne, whom he considered his master, and became a well-known etcher in colours. Among his Italian friends in Paris, we find his relative

Leonetto Cappiello Leonetto Cappiello (9 April 1875 – 2 February 1942) was an Italian and French poster art designer and painter, who mainly lived and worked in Paris.

and

Libero Andreotti Libero Andreotti (18 June 1875 – 4 April 1933) was an Italian artist and educator, known as a sculptor, illustrator, and ceramics artist. He is often referred to as, "one of the foremost artists and sculptors of the early-twentieth century". ...

. In 1914, he was in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

with Marguerite, whom he married in 1908. In Rome he exhibited 12 paintings at the Second Secession. Because of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, he moved to Florence initially for a short while but he ended up staying for 18 years. The couple found a little house in the hills overlooking Florence, at

Settignano Settignano is a ''frazione'' on a hillside northeast of Florence, Italy. The little '' borgo'' of Settignano carries a familiar name for having produced three sculptors of the Florentine Renaissance, Desiderio da Settignano and the Gamberini brother ...

. Müller painted frequently, always working on the movement of light. A great part of his work in this period was dedicated to decorative arts, in which he could express his fascination for theater and its magic. After the political situation worsened, he returned to France in 1932 where he spent his last years. He died in Paris in 1939. He is the elder brother of the cycling champion Rodolfo Müller, who ran the first Tour de France (arrived 4th) and the brother in law of the American cycling-champion and pace-maker Gus Lawson who married his younger sister Marie. He descends from

Lewis Evans (surveyor) Lewis Evans (c. 170012 June 1756) was a Welsh surveyor and geographer. He had a brother John. In the mid-1730s he emigrated to British America, where he was based in Philadelphia. He was well known for his 1755 map of the Middle British Colonies ...

, geographer and close friend of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

, whose daughter Amelia (Philadelphia 1744- Hythe (Southampton, 1835), married to the Irish sea Captain David Barry, was the great-grandmother of Alfredo's grandfather Charles Eugène Schintz, surgeon in Livorno. ''Alfredo Müller. Sur papier. Su carta. On Paper'', Complete Catalogue of the Graphic Work has been published end of 2014 by ''Les Amis d'Alfredo Müller''. Based on wide researches, this large publication lets for the first time overview the life of the artist and the coherence of his art. It gives complete notes for more than two hundred engravings all created in Paris between 1896 and 1906 and about one hundred drawings. The Complete Catalogue of the Painted Work is in preparation. File:Alfredo Müller Lithographe. Litografo. 2012.jpg, Cover page of the catalogue of the lihographs by Alfredo Müller (1869-1939), published in 2012 File:"Nouvelles de l'estampe" n. 233-234 (mars 2011).jpg, Cover page of ''Nouvelles de l'estampe'' n. 233-234 (mars 2011) with Alfredo Müller, "Femme lisant aux fleurs". 1897. Etching in colours 64,3 x 51,7 cm. Exh. Vollard 1898. BnF, département des Estampes. Koehl E44 File:2012 Grafica d'arte 89, couverture.jpg, Cover page of ''Grafica d'Arte'' n. 89, January–March 2012, with "La Jeune femme au Tanagra". 1897, etching in colours 64 x 52 cm. Exh. Vollard 1898. BnF, département des Estampes. Koehl, E42 File:Alfredo Müller. Un ineffabile dandy dell'impressionismo. 2011.jpg, Cover page of Alfredo Müller. Un ineffabile dandy dell'impressionismo, a cura di Francesca Cagianelli, Firenze, Polistampa 2011. Featuring Alfredo Müller, "Ritratto di Cora Antinori". 1916. Oil on canvas 244,5 x 188 cm File:Alfredo Müller. Opera grafica. Livorno 1982.jpg, Cover page of Alfredo Müller. ''Opera grafica''. Livorno 1982, featuring "La Liseuse" 1899, etching 35,5 x 31,5 cm created for "Cocorico" File:Omaggio a Alfredo Müller, Firenze, Il Mirteto 1974.jpg, Cover page of Omaggio an Alfredo Müller, Firenze, ''Il Mirteto'' 1974 featuring "Verlaine au café Procope" 1896, lithograph 45 x 50 cm

References

*''Alfredo Müller. Opera grafica'', catalogo della mostra a cura di Mario Quesada, con la collaborazione di Elisabetta Matucci e una testimonianza di Giuseppe Sprovieri, Livorno, Museo di Villa Maria, August – October 1982. *''Alfredo Müller 1869–1939, Color Etchings and Aquatints'', Essay by Mario Quesada and an Introduction by Elisabetta Matucci,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Gerhard Wurzer Gallery, February – March 1988. *''Alfredo Müller 1869–1939, Color Etchings and Aquatints'',

, Gerhard Wurzer Gallery, September 1992. *''From Pissarro to Picasso. Color Etching in France''. Works from the

Bibliothèque nationale A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

and the Zimmerli Museum, Phillip Dennis Cate & Marianne Grivel (ed.),

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

, N.J.,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

& Paris, 1992–1993. *Francesca Cagianelli (a cura di), ''Alfredo Müller, Un ineffabile dandy dell'impressionismo'', Firenze, Polistampa 2011. *Emanuele Bardazzi, Hélène Koehl, ''Le peintre et graveur Alfredo Müller, un maître méconnu de l'eau-forte en couleurs à la Belle Epoque'', in "

Nouvelles de l'estampe ''Nouvelles de l'estampe'' (in French : "News about prints") is a scholarly journal on prints (etchings, engravings, lithography, etc.). It is published by the Comité national de la gravure française and its office is at the prints department o ...

" n. 233–234, Paris, Comité national de la Gravure française - BnF, March 2011, p. 18–32. * Patrick-Gilles Persin, ''Alfredo Müller, une heureuse redécouverte'', in "

" n. 237, Winter 2011–2012, p. 73-74. * Hélène Koehl, ''Alfredo Müller incisore de ‘La vie heureuse de Dante Alighieri’ nella Parigi della Belle Epoque'', in "Grafica d’Arte" n. 89, January - March 2012, p. 18-23. * Hélène Koehl et Emanuele Bardazzi, ''Alfredo Müller Lithographe/Litografo'', préface de Mireille Romand, textes bilingues français et italien, notices complètes des lithographies de l'artiste, Paris-Strasbourg, Les Amis d'Alfredo Müller éditeur, 2012. * Hélène Koehl, ''Dix eaux-fortes d’Alfredo Müller acquises par la BnF. Où il est question d’E. Delâtre, d’A. Vollard et d’E. Sagot'', in "

" n. 243, Summer 2013, p. 40-44. * Hélène Koehl, ''Alfredo Müller'', in "Impressions à Montmartre : Eugène Delâtre & Alfredo Müller", catalogue de l’exposition au

Musée de Montmartre The Musée de Montmartre ( en, Montmartre Museum) is located in Montmartre, at 8-14 rue Cortot in the 18th (XVIII) arrondissement of Paris, France. It was founded in 1960 and was classified as a Musée de France in 2003. The buildings were form ...

, 14 septembre 2013-12 janvier 2014, Milano, Silvana Editoriale 2013, p. 39-49 * Hélène Koehl, ''Alfredo Müller, un Livournais à Montmartre avant Modigliani (1896-1914)'', "Le Vieux Montmartre", 127ème année, nouvelle série n. 83, December 2013, p. 21-29 * Hélène Koehl, ''Alfredo Müller. Sur papier. Su carta. On Paper''. Catalogue raisonné trilingue de l'oeuvre graphique. Avec des contributions d'Emanuele Bardazzi, Céline Chicha-Castex, Elisabetta Matucci, Nicolas Romand, Sarah Sauvin et une présentation de Rémi Mathis, Paris-Strasbourg, Les Amis d'Alfredo Müller éditeur, November 2014.

External links

Müller Expo at Sagot - Le Garrec, Paris, 2015Müller Expo in Livorno Feb 26-Apr 25, 2011Nouvelles de l'Estampe n. 233-234, Paris, 2011Alfredo Müller at Studio d'Arte dell'Ottocento, LivornoDiverse catalogues (entry: Alfred o Alfredo Muller) at the Frick Art Reference Library
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Alfredo 1869 births 1939 deaths Painters from Livorno French etchers 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters 20th-century French printmakers 19th-century Italian male artists 20th-century Italian male artists