Semi-nude Müller Victor

Victor Müller ranks among the most original German painters of his generation and is one of the key figures in introducing French painting to Germany. He received decisive inspiration during his years in Paris from 1850 to 1858. There, he engaged intensively with contemporary French art and spent considerable time in Barbizon. Gustave Courbet was particularly influential; his realism and direct style of painting had a lasting impact on Müller. It was in this context that the present half-nude portrait of a girl was created. Just how intensively Müller worked from the live model is illustrated by an anecdote from his Paris studio directly linked to the work: when friends visited him there, he was in the process of ‘painting a large mass of flesh with great zeal’. The subject is presumed to be his Parisian lover. Müller concentrates entirely on flesh tones, light and physical presence. His engagement with French painting later influenced a younger generation of artists centred around Wilhelm Leibl and Hans Thoma, establishing him as a pioneer of German Realism. Simona Hurst | 1830 Frankfurt/Main – München 1871 | 19. Jahrhundert | Gemälde | Nummer: 26x1382 | Provenance: Nachlass Victor Müller; Sammlung Peter Burnitz, Frankfurt/Main, (1842–1886); F.A.C. Prestel, Frankfurt/Main, Nachlassversteigerung Peter Burnitz, 9.3.1914, Los 66; Sammlung Friedrich Mook, Frankfurt/Main, (1888–1944); Sammlung Alwin Steffan, Farnkfurt/Main; Privatsammlung, Deutschland.

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