Maler Müller
Encyclopedia
Friedrich Müller German
poet
, dramatist and painter
, is best known for his slightly sentimental prose idyll
s on country
life. Usually known as Maler Müller (i.e. Painter
Müller).
, where his fascinating personality and varied endowments won him the favor of court circles. At 18, he published several collections of etchings which attracted much attention with their originality. In 1774-1775, he settled in Mannheim
, where he soon acquired a reputation as a poet. In 1777 he was appointed court painter.
, which remained his home for the rest of his life. In 1780 he became a Roman Catholic. He was unfavourably influenced by the study of Italian models, and gradually became estranged from painting through failures and distress. He devoted himself instead to the study of the history of art. He became a sort of ambulant antiquary, and his services as cicerone
were especially in demand among German visitors to Rome
.
, under the influence of the Sturm und Drang
movement. In 1775, he published several idyll
s: Satyr Mopsus, Der Faun, Bacchidon und Milon, Der erschlagene Abel and Die Schafschur. In form and content, these were closely modeled on the works of Solomon Gessner
. In 1778 came Adam's First Awaking and First Happy Nights (Adams erstes Erwachen; 2nd revised edition, 1779). A lyric drama of the same year, Niobe (1778), attracted little attention, but Faust's Leben dramatisiert (Faust's Life Dramatized) (1778) appealed to the turbulent spirit of the time, and Golo und Genoveva
(begun in 1776, but not published until 1801) was an excellent imitation of Goethe's Götz von Berlichingen
.
In his idylls, notably Die Schafschur and Das Nusskernen (1811), he struck out a more independent path. In these, emancipating himself from the artificiality of Gessner
, he realistically reproduced scenes from the German peasant life of his day, not without a touch of satire
. His later idylls took Voss as a model.
Maler Müller's Werke appeared in 3 vols. (1811–1825); in 1868 H. Hettner
published two volumes of Dichtungen von Maler Müller, which contain most of his writings. Gedichte von Maler Friedrich Müller; eine Nachlese zu dessen Werken appeared in 1873, and his Fausts Leben was reprinted by B. Seuffert in 1881.
), he was enabled to pass his declining years in comparative ease. He died in Rome in 1825.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, dramatist and painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, is best known for his slightly sentimental prose idyll
Idyll
An idyll or idyl is a short poem, descriptive of rustic life, written in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the Idylls....
s on country
life. Usually known as Maler Müller (i.e. Painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
Müller).
Early life and education
Müller was born in Kreuznach. He showed a talent for art in his youth, and studied painting at ZweibrückenZweibrücken
Zweibrücken is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.- Name :Zweibrücken appears in Latin texts as Geminus Pons and Bipontum, in French texts as Deux-Ponts. The name derives from Middle High German Zweinbrücken...
, where his fascinating personality and varied endowments won him the favor of court circles. At 18, he published several collections of etchings which attracted much attention with their originality. In 1774-1775, he settled in Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, where he soon acquired a reputation as a poet. In 1777 he was appointed court painter.
Painting
In 1778 he was enabled by a public subscription to visit ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, which remained his home for the rest of his life. In 1780 he became a Roman Catholic. He was unfavourably influenced by the study of Italian models, and gradually became estranged from painting through failures and distress. He devoted himself instead to the study of the history of art. He became a sort of ambulant antiquary, and his services as cicerone
Cicerone
Cicerone is an old term for a guide, one who conducts visitors and sightseers to museums, galleries, etc., and explains matters of archaeological, antiquarian, historic or artistic interest. The word is presumably taken from Marcus Tullius Cicero, as a type of learning and eloquence...
were especially in demand among German visitors to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Literature
Before he left Mannheim he had tried his hand at literatureLiterature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, under the influence of the Sturm und Drang
Sturm und Drang
Sturm und Drang is a proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music taking place from the late 1760s through the early 1780s, in which individual subjectivity and, in particular, extremes of emotion were given free expression in reaction to the perceived constraints of rationalism...
movement. In 1775, he published several idyll
Idyll
An idyll or idyl is a short poem, descriptive of rustic life, written in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the Idylls....
s: Satyr Mopsus, Der Faun, Bacchidon und Milon, Der erschlagene Abel and Die Schafschur. In form and content, these were closely modeled on the works of Solomon Gessner
Solomon Gessner
Solomon Gessner was a Swiss painter and poet. His writing suited the taste of his time, though by some more recent standards it is “insipidly sweet and monotonously melodious.” As a painter, he represented the conventional classical landscape.-Biography:He was born in Zürich...
. In 1778 came Adam's First Awaking and First Happy Nights (Adams erstes Erwachen; 2nd revised edition, 1779). A lyric drama of the same year, Niobe (1778), attracted little attention, but Faust's Leben dramatisiert (Faust's Life Dramatized) (1778) appealed to the turbulent spirit of the time, and Golo und Genoveva
Genevieve of Brabant
Genevieve of Brabant is a heroine of medieval legend.-Legend:Her story is a typical example of the widespread tale of the chaste wife falsely accused and repudiated, generally on the word of a rejected suitor. Genovefa of Brabant was said to be the wife of the palatine Siegfried of Treves, and was...
(begun in 1776, but not published until 1801) was an excellent imitation of Goethe's Götz von Berlichingen
Götz von Berlichingen
Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen and also known as Götz of the Iron Hand, was a German Imperial Knight and mercenary....
.
In his idylls, notably Die Schafschur and Das Nusskernen (1811), he struck out a more independent path. In these, emancipating himself from the artificiality of Gessner
Solomon Gessner
Solomon Gessner was a Swiss painter and poet. His writing suited the taste of his time, though by some more recent standards it is “insipidly sweet and monotonously melodious.” As a painter, he represented the conventional classical landscape.-Biography:He was born in Zürich...
, he realistically reproduced scenes from the German peasant life of his day, not without a touch of satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
. His later idylls took Voss as a model.
Maler Müller's Werke appeared in 3 vols. (1811–1825); in 1868 H. Hettner
Hermann Theodor Hettner
Hermann Julius Theodor Hettner , was a German literary historian and writer on the history of art.He was born at Leisersdorf , near Goldberg , in Silesia. At the universities of Berlin, Halle and Heidelberg he concentrated on the study of philosophy, but in 1843 turned his attention to aesthetics,...
published two volumes of Dichtungen von Maler Müller, which contain most of his writings. Gedichte von Maler Friedrich Müller; eine Nachlese zu dessen Werken appeared in 1873, and his Fausts Leben was reprinted by B. Seuffert in 1881.
Later years
Through the patronage of the Crown Prince of Bavaria (afterwards King Louis ILudwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I was a German king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.-Crown prince:...
), he was enabled to pass his declining years in comparative ease. He died in Rome in 1825.