A beautiful lithograph of two females by Swiss printmaker Alfredo Muller.
From the light baby pinks to the deep dark blacks the print gives the illusion of stumbling upon a scene from a time completely foreign to ours now.
The print is well presented in a gilded wood frame with moulding detail and a washline mount.
The print is signed in the bottom right-hand corner in graphite.
Signed. On laid.The condition is typical for a picture of this age including some discolouration. and light foxing.
30 x 40cm (11.8" x 15.7")Framed Size: 60 x 70cm (23.6" x 27.6")
Müller was born in Livorno to a wealthy Swiss family involved in the international cotton and coffee trades. At the age of 15, he began studying art in Florence with the masters Giuseppe Ciaranfi and Michele Gordigiani 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 Livorno, together with established painters such as Giovanni Fattori and Silvestro Lega.
In 1889, he exhibited two of his paintings at the Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he discovered Impressionism. 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, his paintings, which now reflected the influence of Impressionism, 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 Paris, eventually settling in Montmartre. He made friends in the social circle of artists, writers and musicians, becoming acquainted in particular with Renoir, but also with Pissarro and Cé;zanne, 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 and Libero Andreotti.
In 1914, he was in Rome with Marguerite, whom he married in 1908. In Rome he exhibited 12 paintings at the Second Secession. Because of the war, 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. 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.
| SKU | py181 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Alfredo Muller |
| Date | Early 20th Century |
| Dimensions | 30 x 40cm |
| Medium | Lithograph |
| Style | Impressionism |
| Subject | Portrait |
| Item Returns | This item can be returned |
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