![SkizzierenOM Hut](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/SkizzierenOM_Hut.jpg)
Otto Müller (November 21, 1898 – December 9, 1979) was a German painter and graphic designer.
Life and work
Parental home
Müller was born on November 21, 1898, in Cröllwitz, which since 1900 was a part of the city of
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...
. He was the first child of the engine driver Karl Christoph Friedrich Otto Müller (1874–1951) and Anna Müller, née Schmidt (1876–1923). He had one brother and two sisters.
Education
Müller went to school in Halle for eight years. He went to train as a
lithographer
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
from 1913 to 1917. During this period, he also attended evening classes in drawing and painting at the Staatliche Städtische Handwerkerschule, later known as the
Kunstgewerbeschule
A Kunstgewerbeschule (English: ''School of Arts and Crafts'' or S''chool of Applied Arts'') was a type of vocational arts school that existed in German-speaking countries from the mid-19th century. The term Werkkunstschule was also used for thes ...
Burg Giebichenstein (Burg Giebichstein Academy of Arts and Crafts), in Halle.
During the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in 1918, Müller was called up to serve on the Western Front in France.
After being demobilised in 1919, he started studying painting at the Burg Giebichenstein Academy of Arts and Crafts, where he was a student of Professor Erwin Hahs (1887–1970). During this period, he formed strong and lasting friendships with fellow students Paul Zilling (1900–1953) and Helmut Schröder (1910–1974). In 1927, both Müller and Helmut Schröder joined a class taught by
Charles Crodel
Charles Crodel (September 16, 1894 – November 11, 1973) was a German painter and stained glass artist.
Life
Crodel was born in Marseille, he studied in 1914 with Richard Riemerschmid, one of the founders of the Deutscher Werkbund, at the M ...
, newly appointed to Burg Giebichstein as professor for painting and graphics. During his time in Charles Crodel's class, Müller befriended Kurt Bunge (1911–1998). In different ways, Erwin Hahs and Charles Crodel both influenced Müller's artistic development. Müller came to see a precise study of nature as the basis for all artistic work. Müller is also indebted to Erwin Hahs for training his formal means of expression in terms of a constructive composition encompassing
abstract art
Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world.
Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th ...
. Loosely composed, often highly colourful and reminiscent of
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 ...
, Crodel's paintings provided Müller with fresh artistic impetus.
To fund his training at Burg Giebichenstein, Müller was forced to interrupt his studies for lengthy periods on several occasions. From 1920 to 1922 and from 1924 to 1925, he worked as a painter in the
Leuna works
The Leuna works (german: Leunawerke) in Leuna, Saxony-Anhalt, is one of the biggest chemical industrial complexes in Germany. The site, now owned jointly by companies such as Total S.A., BASF, Linde AG, and DOMO Group, covers 13 km2 and produ ...
. He spent the period of economic depression in 1923 and 1924 on the
“waltz”. In
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
, he worked as a stage painter at the Deutsches Theater. His journeying took him to Southern Germany, where he found work in
Kochel am See
Kochel am See is a municipality and a town in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in Bavaria, on the shores of Kochelsee. The municipality consists of the districts Altjoch, Brunnenbach, Ort, Pessenbach, Pfisterberg, Walchensee and Ried.
...
on the construction of the
Walchensee Hydroelectric Power Station
The Walchensee Power Plant (german: link=no, Walchenseekraftwerk) is a hydroelectric power station in Bavaria, Germany. It is a storage power station that is fed water from the Walchensee which is then released into the Kochelsee. The installe ...
. In 1929, he sat and passed the painter's trade examination with the stage decorator O. Möllhoff in Halle.
Professional and family life 1930–1945
In 1930, Müller entered employment in the paint factory at the "Technische Chemikalien- und Compagnie GmbH" in Halle as a laboratory technician and departmental manager.
![HochzeitOM](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/HochzeitOM.jpg)
In 1936, Müller married Senta-Luise Demmer. They had two children.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Müller served from 1938 to 1940 in the German defensive line known as the
Westwall
The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the wes ...
.
From 1941 to 1945, he worked as a draughtsman at the Siebel aircraft plant in Halle and was exempt from military service for the rest of the war.
Professional and family life 1945–1963
In 1945, Müller began working as a self-employed painter and graphic designer in Halle. In 1946, he became a member of the Artists Association of the Democratic Republic of Germany – known in German as "''Verband Bildender Künstler"'' (VBK).
In 1947, the family moved to 14 Fischer von Erlach Straße. The Müllers shared their barracks with the following artists and their families: Meinolf Splett (born 1911), Fritz Stehwien (born 1914), Clemens Kindling (1916–1992), Mrs Braun (a friend of the architect
Hanns Hopp
Hanns Hopp (9 February 1890 – 21 February 1971) was a German architect.
Hopp was born in Lübeck and studied at the University of Karlsruhe and the Technical University of Munich. From 1918 he was employed as an architect for the local autho ...
(1890–1971)), Kurt Völker (brother of Karl Völker). The following artists lived in the neighbouring barracks: Richard Horn, Karl-Erich Müller (1917–1998), Herbert Lange and Helmut Schröder.
Otto Müller was a member of a Halle-based group of artists, known as "Die Fähre" (The Ferryboat - 1947–1949).
In March 1948, he took part in an exhibition at the Henning Gallery in Halle, together with Charles Crodel, Kurt Bunge and Karl Rödel (1907–1982). His contributions to the exhibition caused Richard Horn to describe Otto Müller as “the most interesting of the four artists in the exhibition” in the introduction to the exhibition catalogue.
![Sitzende1947](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Sitzende1947.jpg)
With three graphic works from 1947, Müller was one of just two artists from Halle (together with Willi Sitte) to be represented at the "Gesamtdeutsche Graphik-Ausstellung" (German Graphic Exhibition) organised by the German Cultural Council in Munich and held in the State Gallery and the Lenbach Gallery. One of the most prominent members of the jury was Charles Crodel, who had been a lecturer at the
Academy of Fine Arts in Munich since 1952.
In 1954, Müller moved to the first new accommodation built in Halle since the end of the war, in Stalinallee 57b (today Merseburger Straße 127).
From 1951 to about 1964, Müller worked in workshops in agriculture, mining and industry, e.g. in the engineering works in Halle, where he produced an oil painting known as „Der Maschinenformer“ (the engine builder), now owned by the Moritzburg foundation at the Kunstmuseum des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt (State Art Museum of Saxony-Anhalt) in Halle.
From 1959 to 1966, Müller was a member of the section executive of the VBK Halle.
Later works 1963–1979
On the occasion of his 65th birthday in 1963, Müller was awarded the Art Award of the City of Halle for his lifetime artistic accomplishments and for his tile paintings in the “Frohe Zukunft” school. An exhibition of his works was also held to mark this occasion at the State Gallery in Moritzburg, now the State Museum. In the preface to the catalogue, Heinz Schönemann, then the director of the State Gallery, wrote “A pupil himself of Burg Giebichenstein, he could be described as a silent master of the artists of Halle, as so much of their work essentially originated with him. His rich imagination, his thoroughness and his technical knowledge, his eye for the pleasant things in our life – all these have always been an inspiration for his colleagues.”
From the late 1950s onwards, young people with artistic interests sought contact with Müller, resulting in intensive discussions and joint studies of professional artists. These include Falko Warmt (b. 1938), with Müller from 1960 to 1963, Karl-Heinz Köhler (b. 1937) and Wolfgang Grunwald.
In the 1970s, Otto Müller and fellow artist Karl-Erich Müller often worked together on sketches in Halle, Merseburg and the Saalkreis. These studies resulted in several hundred drawings and watercolours, documenting various condemned buildings in Halle's old town. A large number of graphic urban landscapes are now kept in the city archives in Halle.
On December 9, 1979, Müller died in the Carl von Basedow clinic in
Merseburg
Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...
.
Works
Müller mastered a number of different graphical and artistic techniques:
*
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...
: With pencil, crayon, and felt-tip pens, sanguine drawings, sepia drawings (using a quill), ink drawings (using a paintbrush),
Watercolor painting
Watercolor (American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the U ...
*
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
:
Tempera
Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...
, wax painting,
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...
* His own combinations of some of these techniques
Throughout his career, Müller produced images of people, plants, animals and landscapes. He became known at an early stage for his pictures of flowers and grass, and was often referred to as “Flower” Müller or “Grass” Müller to distinguish him from other artists with the same surname.
Müller's work included subject paintings and more abstract art.
Exhibitions
His works were shown in many exhibitions during his lifetime. The following is a selection of these:
* 1928: Exhibition of Müller's work from his school days at the Roter Turm in Halle
* 1934: Represented at the exhibition “Hallesche Kunst” at the Anhaltischen Kunstverein in Dessau
* 1939: Prize winner in the „Schafft schöne Heimatkunst“ competition in Halle
* 1946: Represented at the first German art exhibition after the Second World War in Berlin
* 1948: Represented at the exhibition “Die Welt im Schleier der Farbe: Carl Crodel, Kurt Bunge, Otto Müller, Karl Rödel” at the Galerie Henning in Halle
* 1948: Represented at the exhibition “Das Aktbild” at the Galerie Marktschlößchen in Halle, organised by the Halle artists group known as “Die Fähre”
* 1949: Exhibition of animal drawings and paintings by Müller, organised by Die Fähre
* 1951: Exhibition of graphic studies in the Machine and Tractor Station (MTS) Volkstedt
* 1956: Represented at the Gesamtdeutsche Graphik-Ausstellung (German Graphic Exhibition) organised by the German Cultural Council in Munich and held in the State Gallery and the Lenbach Gallery
* 1963–1964: Exhibition of his works from throughout his lifetime at the State Gallery in Moritzburg on the occasion of his 65th birthday
* 1967, 1972, 1977: Participated in art exhibitions of the German Federal Republic in Dresden
* 1968: Exhibition at the kleine Galerie in Halle on the occasion of his 70th birthday
* From 1969: Represented in the regional art exhibitions
* 1976: Exhibition in the Carl von Basedow clinic in Merseburg
* 1977: Opening of the State Gallery on the Hansering in Halle with exhibition of works by Müller.
* 1977: Exhibition in Galerie am Sachsenplatz in Leipzig
* 1978–1979: Exhibition in the Galerie Marktschlößchen in Halle on the occasion of this 80th birthday
* 1979–1980: “Kunst aus Halle” (Kunst from Halle) exhibition in Galerie “Spektrum” in Chemnitz (known at the time as Karl-Marx-Stadt)
* 1979–1980: Represented at the “Kunst aus der DDR, Bezirk Halle” (Art from the GDR, region Halle) exhibition in the Kunstverein Hannover
Sources
The written documents from Müller's estate are stored in the
(SLUB Dresden), Mscr. Dresd. App. 2391, 1–512.
Further reading
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*
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*
External links
*
Paintings by Otto Müller at museum-digital.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Otto
20th-century German painters
20th-century German male artists
German male painters
Artists from Halle (Saale)
1898 births
1979 deaths