Alfredo Müller (1869-1939)
Born: June 30, 1869; Livorno, Italy
Died: February 7, 1939; Paris
Nationality: Italian/French
Biography of Alfredo Müller
Alfredo Müller, who was a painter and a printmaker, found success in France and Italy. He exhibited in both countries, most notably in Florentine Exhibitions between 1890 and 1919, and in the Paris Salons between 1895 and 1914. For his prints, he worked in a color aquatint style similar to that of Jacques Villon and Manuel Robbe. Müller’s handling of technique reflected his background in painting, and his subjects range from elegant genre scenes to landscapes composed of abstracted, flat planer surfaces; in this, his art bridges the traditional and the modern.
Müller was born in Livorno, Italy, on June 30th, 1869, to a wealthy Swiss family of cotton merchants. At an early age, he went to study in Florence at the schools of Giuseppe Ciaranfi and Michele Gordigiani.
In 1886, Müller took part along with Fattori, Lega, Tommasi and all the post-macchiaioli group, in the Prima Esposizione di Bella Arti (First Exposition of Fine Arts) in Livorno.
In 1888, Müller’s family decided to move to Paris. Here Müller studied first at the atelier of François Flameng (until 1892) and later at the atelier of Carolus-Duran. From this date on until 1914, he stayed in the French capital, living alternately in the country, in Barbizon, in Suresnes and traveling very often to Italy where he exhibited for many successive years at the Promotrici Fiorenine. He belonged, along with Toulouse-Lautrec, Jourdain and Raffaélli, to the Societe des Artistes Independants.
In 1903, he sojourned in London and married the painter Marguerite Thomann who lived by his side for the rest of his life.
In 1913, he became a French citizen and the following year, at the outbreak of the First World War, he returned to Italy, first in Taormina, and later in Florence where he settled in a villa in Settignano. Müller remained in Florence almost uninterruptedly until 1930, keeping a studio and participating in numerous exhibitions, among which the most important was Primaverile Fiorentina (Florentine Spring) in 1922. In 1930, Müller returned to Paris where he lived until his death on February 7, 1939.
