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Kampagnenmotiv der Ausstellung OTTO MUELLER, Motiv „Die Badenden"

“For the most part, I attempt to render my impressions of landscapes and humans with the greatest possible simplicity”. (Otto Mueller)

Otto Mueller

Otto Mueller (1874–1930) was long regarded as the Romantic among the Expressionists. The 150th anniversary of his birth offers an occasion to revisit both this cliché and his work , which includes portraits, bathers and people in natural settings.

Expressionism [ɪkˈsprɛʃᵊnɪzᵊm], from Latin expressio

blaues Farbfeld mit der Überschrift „Konzept: Natürlichkeit"

Chapter One: Basic concept – Close to nature

Drei Frauen sitzen unbekleidet auf einer Wiese

Körper in Harmonie?

Otto Mueller’s works are often described as being close to nature. The figures look as though they were acting spontaneously, but Mueller conceived the composition of his paintings very carefully. Moreover, the arms, legs and bodies, are homogenised. What is the consequence of this on personalities?

Between radical change and expression

Otto Mueller endeavoured to portray unclothed, seemingly unspoiled people in natural settings as a reaction to the upheavals and social constraints of his time.

Between 1910 and 1913, he was a member of the artists’ group Die Brücke, which had a similar approach, rejecting academic art with its unnatural poses and favouring direct expression using elaborate compositions. Furthermore, such artists concentrated on form, surface and colour, and found their inspiration in locations and cultures that they associated with freedom and with living close to nature. As regards Mueller, his favoured locations were Fehmarn Island, the Giant Mountains and south-eastern Europe. He only developed a personal style after studying classical models, in particular from the Renaissance.

XXX On this early painting by Mueller, Maschka has centre-parted hair that underscores her Madonna-like appearance. In the 1920s, however, she favoured the bob typical of that decade. Moreover, Mueller depicted her more sculpturally in this work than in later The dancer’s bare feet recall Isadora Duncan (1877–1927), a pioneer of modern dance who embodied freedom and artistic independence and had a lasting influence on the world of dance. The artist idealises beauty and movement as he slightly stylises the dancer’s gestures, giving them an ornamental and decorative touch that recalls the Art Nouveau style.

The model’s pose and gesture are soft and supple, the veil swirls gently around her hips. Her white skin attracts our attention — and that of the man in the dark background who wears a white waistcoat and a formal suit.

What might his intentions be?

Voyeurism [vwaɪˈjɜːrɪzᵊm]

(i) Lucas Cranach the Elder, Venus, 1532, Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main/Artothek

Venus vibes

With her petite figure, the woman in this painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553) embodies the beauty ideal of the early 20th century. The fact that the work depicts Venus, the Latin goddess of Beauty, was only recognised in 1900. Influenced by the resulting infatuation with Cranach, Mueller had a reproduction of the painting in his studio and made this type of woman his personal standard of beauty. Note the gossamer fabric that recalls the dancer’s veil.

xx

At the beginning of his career, Otto Mueller adopted the style of the Old Masters, using thin layers of paint and taking his inspiration from Renaissance artists such as Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553) and Titian (1488/90–1576). His first double portraits in oil were primed with egg tempera and, according to his sister Emmy, he spoke of that time as his “Titian period”. Nonetheless, the details of these portraits rather underscore his modern approach of painting.

Bild: Ottos verschollenes Gemälde mit einer Liegenden und das Vorbild Tizian.

Ottos verschollenes Gemälde mit einer Liegenden und das Vorbild Tizian.

Chapters: More about Otto Mueller

© Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL)