Johannes Theodor Müller (28 November 1873 – 15 March 1953) also known as John Theodore Muller, was a German-Australian sculptor,
best known for his carvings on the sandstone walls of
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
's
Great Court at its
St Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...
campus in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
.
Life and career
According to Müller's biographer, John East, information about Müller's life is scanty because all his records were destroyed in a fire at his home on 5 July 1952.
Nevertheless East was able to retrieve sufficient official records and other sources for his biography.
Müller was born on 28 November 1873 in
Schandau, now known as Bad Schandau, Germany, then part of the
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...
. Müller was the fifth child of Carl Gottlob Müller (a member of the Royal Saxon Army, guarding the nearby border with Bohemia, now the Czech Republic) and Emma Alwine, née Gräfe.
After working briefly in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, in 1901 Müller began working in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. In 1903, Müller travelled to
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
Australia to begin a three-year contract with
Wunderlich Limited
Wunderlich were a brand of decorative metal panels used for pressed metal ceilings and other architectural elements in Australia.
History
The Wunderlich company was established by Ernest Julius Wunderlich in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in ...
making clay models of designs to be stamped into
tin ceilings. He stayed with the company for eight years.
In 1905, Müller married and began raising a family. In 1908, he became a citizen of Australia. In 1911, Müller and his family moved to Brisbane where he established his own business, but then resumed employment at a new factory Wunderlich had opened in the city.
In the 1920s, Müller became involved with masonry work as a subcontractor, including on Brisbane's
Treasury Building, on the
Masonic Temple, and on the
Brisbane City Hall
Brisbane City Hall, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is the seat of the Brisbane City Council. It is located adjacent to King George Square, where the rectangular City Hall has its main entrance. The City Hall also has frontages and entran ...
. Müller's work on the city hall included carving lions' heads into the sandstone facings of the building.
In late 1929, Müller served as the chief assistant stone carver to
Daphne Mayo who was responsible for the large
tympanum crowning the central portico of the Brisbane City Hall.
After 1930, the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
reduced building activity. In 1932, the
Queensland State Government commenced large-scale construction of public buildings, including, in 1938, the University of Queensland at St Lucia. In 1939, Müller, Frederick McGowan (a Sydney stonemason), and Frederick Pilling (who had worked with Müller on the city hall) began carving decorations into the
Helidon freestone facings. This was curtailed by the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. McGowan and Pilling both died in 1942, by which time Müller had resumed carving the decorations, including
grotesque
Since at least the 18th century (in French and German, as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...
s, for which Müller had complete artistic freedom.
Müller continued to work on the decorations until 1951 when ill-health forced him to take a break for several months. In April 1952 illness prevented him from doing any more work.
Personal life
In January 1905, Müller married Kate Rose, a teacher who was 10 years younger than Müller. They had two children: a son, Max, in 1906, and a daughter, Louise, in 1907.
Müller died on 15 March 1953; Kate died on 26 July 1953.
See also
* Queensland University's second sculptor,
Rhyl Hinwood
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Johannes Theodor
1873 births
1953 deaths
20th-century Australian sculptors