Georg Müller, Badende

Description

‘Badende’ (‘Bathing’)
Executed in bronze.
Single unique cast, with core still inside (see X-ray photo below).
Created likely between 1910-1920.

A cast of ‘Badende’ (‘Bathing’) by Müller was displayed at:
– the Int. Kunstausstellung der Münchener Secession, 1911 (silver): depicted in the exhibition catalogue;
– the ‘Muenchener Kunst Sonder Ausstellungen in der Neuen Pinakothek’, 1935 (bronze);
– the GDK 1940, room 36 (bronze);
– the ‘Münchner Kunstausstellung Danzig’, 1941 (bronze).

Direct Lost-Wax Casting – the Single Unique Cast
In the direct lost-wax casting process (also named ‘cire perdue’), the sculptor begins by building a roughly modelled clay-core over a metal armature. The clay-core is baked to harden it and drive off moisture, and then a relatively thin layer of wax is applied that receives the detailing of anatomy, texture, facial features and signature. A mold is formed around the wax-model, when the mold is heated the wax melts and creates a space into which molten bronze is poured. Once the bronze is cast, the clay-core and armature can be removed to lessen the weight of the finished sculpture. Occasionally the core and armature rods are -in whole or in part- left inside the bronze. On sculptures meant to be placed outdoors, the clay-core and iron-armature are generally removed in order to avoid damage from absorption of water.
The direct lost wax technique allows the artist to cast directly off of the original model, and is ideal for wax models with complex surface textures as well as large and complex compositions. This casting method produces a Single Unique Cast from a Single Model (as opposed to one that is cast from a mold of an existing model). The original master model is lost in the casting process: producing more copies of the master model is impossible.
When X-ray photos show iron armature or internal frame inside the bronze, it is evident that the direct lost wax casting technique was used and that we have to do with the original cast/model.

X-ray photos taken in 2021 of ‘Badende’ by Müller. Visible are the iron wires from the core inside.

From left to right:
– ‘Badende‘, ‘Int. Kunstausstellung der Münchener Secession’, 1911: executed in silver;
– ‘Badende’, depicted in ‘Velhagen & Klasings’, Monatshefte, 1915/16: executed in silver;
– ‘Badende’, depicted in the ‘Jahrbuch der Münchner Kunst’, 1918: executed in iron;
– ‘Badende’, at the Great German Art Exhibition, 1940 room 36: executed in bronze.

– condition	: II
– size	: height including base: 33 cm
– signed	: on the base
– type	: bronze

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BIOGRAPHY: GEORG MÜLLER

‘Brunnenfigur am Possartplatz’
Left: Georg Müller, ‘Brunnenfigur am Possartplatz’, Munich, 2014 (in 1964 renamed into: Shakespeareplatz). Statue displayed at GDK 1939, room 11. Also displayed at the Münchener Kunstausstellung 1942, Maximilianeum. Material: Kirchheimer Muschelkalk.
Right: Georg Müller, ‘Brunnenfigur am Possartplatz’, depicted in ‘Kunst dem Volk’ 1942 (also printed on the cover); again depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, December 1938 (on 2 pages and on the cover), and in ‘Münchener Mosaik’, 1942.

‘Brunnenfigur’ by Georg Müller, depicted in ‘Münchener Mosaik, Kulturelle Monatsschrift der Hauptstadt der Bewegung’, 1942.

‘Ritratto maschile’, or Georg Müller’s ‘Gladiator’
The ‘Kunst für Alle’, 1925/26, described ‘Männliches Portrait’ (the figure below) as follows:
‘Im Typischen brutaler Athletenerscheinung hält sich der rassige Schädel eines modernen Gladiators, von prächtige Kraft des Baues und voll gestrafften Lebens in knappster Form‘, or ‘The typical hard athletic-look expresses the racial head of a modern gladiator, a beautiful strong and disciplined figure in perfect condition’.

Georg Müller, ‘Männliches Portrait‘ (‘Man-portrait‘), bronze, created 1924. Height 49 cm. Displayed at the:
– ‘Grosse Münchener Kunstausstellung’, Glaspalast, 1924; depicted in the exhibition catalogue;
– ‘Muenchener Kunst Sonder Ausstellungen in der Neuen Pinakothek’, 1935;
– ‘XXII Bienalle in Vienna’, 1940, under the name ‘Ritratto maschile’.
Depicted in ‘Die Kunst für Alle’, 1925/26, and in ‘Die Kunst im Dritten Reich’, 1939. In the possession of the Neue Pinakothek, München. The model for the sculpture was named Josef Sugar.
Left: ‘Männliches Portrait‘ by Müller, depicted in the 1924 Glaspalast-exhibition catalogue.
Right: ‘Männliches Portrait‘ by Müller, depicted in ‘Die Kunst für Alle’, 1925/26.

‘Männliches Portrait’ by Müller, depicted in ‘Die Kunst im Dritten Reich’, 1939.

Georg Müller, ‘Rossebändiger’ (left) and ‘Amazone’, GDK 1937 room 28, respectively GDK 1939, room 29. ‘Rossebändiger” was depicted in the exhibition catalogue. Both figures were depicted in several magazines from 1937 to 1944: i.a. in ‘Kunst dem Volk’, ‘Die Kunst’, ‘Kunst im Deutschen Reich’ and ‘Jugend’. Also printed on postcards.

Georg Müller, ‘Amazone’, the original plaster model displayed at the ‘Olympische Kunstausstellung Berlin 15. Juli -16. August 1936’ (‘Olympic Art Exhibition Berlin, 15 July through 16 August 1936). Depicted in the official exhibition magazine.

Art competitions at the Olympic Games
The Olympic Games during its early years, from 1912 to 1948, included art competitions in addition to the athletic contests. Bronze, Silver and Gold medals were awarded for exhibits of town planning, architecture, drama, poetry, music, graphic arts and paintings as well as sculpture, reliefs and medallions. All of the entered works had to be inspired by sport, and had to be original and not previously published.
The competitions were part of the original intention of the Olympic Movement’s founder, Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin, who believed that sports and the arts were inextricably linked.
The juried art competitions were abandoned in 1954 mainly because of the idea that artists were considered to be professionals, while Olympic athletes were required to be amateurs (however, the athletic events would later radically evolve to accommodate professional athletes).
Also, a continuing subject of discussion and debate was the fact that sporting achievements can be measured in easily-understood metrics such as time and distance, but judging the arts is undeniably subjective. Finally the arts competition suffered from the guiding parameter that the works created had to be associated with sport, limiting the entries to tiresome imagery of athletes and odes to sporting achievement.

The 1936 Summer Games in Berlin, best-documented Olympic Art Competition
At the opening ceremony of 1936 Olympic Art Competition, Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels reminded his audience that each work entered in the competition was required to have been created within the last four years. This restriction, he declared, ‘enables us to derive from the Exhibition an estimate of international conditions.’
The detailed descriptions in the Official Report of the 11th Olympic Games not only provided a dazzling depiction of this charmingly peculiar Olympic-art phenomenon, but also a chilling snapshot of Germany during the emergence of the Third Reich. Home-field advantage greatly worked in Germany’s favor that year; the international jury consisted of 29 German judges and 12 from other European countries. It was also a welcome, if not surprising, spike in gold medals for the German artists, who won five of the nine gold medals awarded that year. Charles Downing Lay was the only American to win a medal in 1936, taking home silver in the Architecture category. The German brothers Werner and Walter March took home gold in that category for their design ‘Reich Sport Field.’
The 1936 art competition was one of the most successful on record. More than 70,000 people visited the accompanying exhibition over the course of its four weeks on display. Prominents like the Reich Ministers Frick, Goebbels, and Rust, the Italian Minister of Education, and the Baron Morimoura of Japan all purchased works from the exhibition.

‘Schusterbrunnen’
Left and mid: Georg Müller, ‘Schusterbrunnen’ (‘Fountain of the Shoemaker’), 1914. Located in the centre of City of Pirmasens, well known for its shoe-industry. The plastermodel was displayed at the exhibition ‘Münchner Kunst’ in the Neue Pinakothek, 1935 (‘Sonderausstellung’ on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the ‘Neue Münchner Secession’).
Below: later the plastermodel was again displayed at the GDK 1939 room 27, under the name ‘Arbeiter’ (‘Workman’).
Below-right: photo depicted in ‘Zeit on Line’, October 2011.

Left: Georg Müller, ‘Pferdestudie’, high-relief depicted in the magazin ‘Jugend‘, 1943.
Right: Georg Müller, ‘Pferdestudie, Modell für die Walhalla’, GDK 1938, room 20 (right on the picture).

Georg Müller, ‘World War I Memorial’ (later WWI and WWII Memorial), revealed on May 22, 1927. City of Ansbach, Johannis-kirche, photo: 2014. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, December, 1938.

The World War I Memorial in Ansbach by Georg Müller, depicted in ‘Die Kunst für Alle’, December 1938.

The Nacked German Warrior
The symbol of the ‘Nacked German Warrior’ is related to the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest: writing in 98 A. D. the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus describes the Germans as a tall, red haired, blue-eyed ‘race unmixed by intermarriage with other races, a peculiar people and pure, like no one but themselves’.
In Tacitus we find the first German hero, Arminius (Hermann der Cherusker), the Roman-trained prince of the Cherusci tribe, who, returning to his Germanic roots, united his people and led a decisive battle against the Roman army in 9 A.D. in the Teutoburg Forest. Led by German guides into the impenetrable forest, the legions of Publius Quintilius Varus, comprising the entire Roman occupation army of more than 20,000 men, were ambushed and annihilated by naked German warriors hurling spears from behind the trees. The Romans would never regain the territory east of the Rhine. From the mid 18th-century, the story of Arminius, the ‘Liberator Germaniae’ has been an inspiration to German nationalists. The Stahlhelm, a similar German symbol, reinforces the total picture of heroism.

Psychological Warfare
Also from Celtic warriors is known that they fought naked: towards the end of the 3rd century B.C., a coalition of Celtic tribes attacked the Roman Republic. One of the decisive battles during this war was the Battle of Telamon (225 BC). The ancient writer Polybius writes about ‘a tribe of Celtic warriors who had the habit of fighting naked’. According to Polybius they fought naked for three reasons: first of all, this was meant to display their confidence, both to their allies, and to the enemy. Secondly, it seems that it was more efficient to fight this way, ‘thinking that thus they would be more efficient, as some of the ground was overgrown with brambles which would catch in their clothes and impede the use of their weapons.’ Thirdly, the sight of naked warriors was also intended to intimidate the enemy.

Bust of Goethe
Georg Müller, Bust of Goethe, GDK 1940 room 7. Bought by Adolf Hitler for 1,000 RM. Also displayed at the ‘Deutsche Kunstausstellung München 1930 im Glaspalast’ (‘executed in cement’), and again at the Münchener Kunstausstellung, Maximilianeum, 1938.
Left: depicted in ‘Jugend, 1938, number 5; ‘Zu Goethe’s Geburtstag‘. The text below the photo reads: ‘Goethe-Büste, Ausgeführt für Architekt Paul Ludw. Troost’ (‘Bust of Goethe, commissioned by architect Paul Ludwig Troost’). Later again depicted in ‘Kunst dem Volk,’1942.
Right: the Goethe-bust by Müller, depicted on a postcard.

Monastery of Hohenfurt (Vyssi Brod), Czech Republic
At the end of WWII, several stolen art collections -and 46 paintings and 30 statues from Hitler’s private contemporary art collection- were hidden by the National Socialists in the Monastery of Hohenfurt (Vyssi Brod), near Linz in the Czech Republic. After the war, valuable art, such as pieces from the Mannheimer- and Rothschild collections, were confiscated by the U.S. Army and taken to the Munich Central Collection Point in an effort to return them to their original owners. Many less valuable works, like contemporary German Nazi-art works, were left behind after the 1945 liberation of Czechoslovakia and ended up scattered across the country.
The Goethe-bust by Georg Müller was one of the 30 sculptures in the Monastery of Hohenfurt; the work is lost.
In 2012 sixteen paintings by German artists -that Adolf Hitler personally purchased during WWII- were found in various Czech institutions. Seven were discovered in the Zákupy Chateau, the site where items from confiscated castles, chateaus and private houses were gathered after the war. Seven other canvases were found at the convent of Premonstratensian Sisters in Doksany, near Prague. Two paintings were found at the Military Institute in Prague and at the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague. All the sixteen paintings are now in the possession of the ‘Czech National Institute for the Protection and Conservation of Monuments and Sites’. They will remain in the Czech Republic.

The Goethe-bust by Georg Müller (left) as it was found in 1945 in the Czech Republic (Monastery of Hohenfurt). Photo: ‘Hitlerova Sbirka v Cechach’, by Jiri Kuchar.

‘Il compositore Max Reger’
Georg Müller, ‘Komponist Max Reger’ (‘Composer Max Reger’), 1930. Bronze, height 39 cm.
Displayed:
– at the Kunstausstellung München in the Glaspalast, 1931 (saved from the fire);
– at the Kunstausstellung München in the Deutsches Museum, later in 1931;
– at the ‘Münchener Kunst Sonder Ausstellungen’, 1935, in the Neue Pinakothek;
– at the exhibition ‘Münchener Künstler’, -Preussischen Akademie der Künste Berlin, 1935;
– at the Great German Art Exhibition in 1937, room 2;
– at the XXII Bienalle in Vienna, 1940, under the name ‘Il compositore Max Reger’;
– at the ‘Münchner Kunstausstellung Danzig’, 1941;
– since 1948 in the Walhalla, Regensburg (bust executed in marble after the same model).

The bronze bust is now in the possession of the Bayerischen Staatsgemäldesammlungen, apparently still with traces of the Glaspalast fire.
Depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, October, 1931.
Left: the text below the picture reads: ‘Wurde beim Brand des Glaspalastes geretted’).
Right: depicted in the exhibition catalog ‘Münchener Künstler’, -Ausstellung in der Preussischen Akademie der Künste Berlin, May/June 1935. The same photo was depicted in the exhibition catalogue of the ‘Muenchener Kunst, – Sonder Ausstellungen in der Neuen Pinakothek’, 1935. In the last exhibition catalogue the bust was described as ‘wurde vom Brand des Glaspalastes gerettet’.

Left: the bronze Reger-cast in the possession of the Neue Pinakothek. Size 39 x 29 x 31.
Right: the bronze Reger-cast displayed in the GDK 1937 room 2.

The Reger-cast displayed at the ‘Münchner Kunstausstellung Danzig’, 1941. Depicted in the exhibition catalogue.

Friedrich List or Max Reger in the Walhalla?
In 1948 Fritz Kölle was commissioned by the Bavarian Ministry of Culture to create a bust of the leading 19th-century German-American economist Friedrich List. The bust was destined to be placed in the Regensburger Walhalla Memorial, the Hall of Fame that honors laudable and distinguished people, famous personalities in German history – politicians, sovereigns, scientists and artists of the German tongue. The Hall is housed in a neo-classical building above the Danube River, east of Regensburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It was conceived in 1807 by Crown Prince Ludwig, who built it upon ascending the throne of Bavaria as King Ludwig I. Construction took place between 1830 and 1842, under the supervision of architect Leo von Klenze. The memorial displays some 65 plaques and 130 busts of persons, covering 2,000 years of history – the earliest person honored is Arminius, victor at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD).
Kölle produced a plaster model which was approved by the Director of the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen. However, before he created the model in marble, a debate started about his role in the Third Reich, and hence his contract was canceled. Under time pressure, the decision was made to place a bust of Max Reger in the Walhalla, instead of Friedrich List.
In the Munich atelier of Georg Müller, a pre-war plaster bust of Max Reger was found. Müller used this as a model to create a marble bust, which was placed nine months later in the Walhalla. Georg Müller had previously used the same plaster bust as an original model for the bronze bust of Max Reger. That bronze bust had been displayed in 1931 in the Glaspalast, in 1935 in the Neue Pinakothek, in 1937 at the Great German Art Exhibition and in 1940 at the XXII Bienalle in Vienna. The bronze Reger bust is currently in the possession of the Bayerischen Staatsgemäldesammlungen (apparently with traces of the Glaspalast fire); the marble Reger still has its place in the Regensburger Hall of Fame.
Up until now, a bust of Friedrich List has never been placed in the Walhalla.

Georg Müller, ‘Bust of Max Reger’. In 1948, on the occasion of his 75 birthday anniversary, this marble bust of composer Max Reger was placed in the Walhalla, Regensburg. Müller created this marble bust after the same plaster bust which he used for the bronze.

Georg Müller, ‘Bust of Max Reger’. Plastermodel, displayed in 2017 in the ‘Militärhistorisches Museum, Dresden’. Likely the single original original plaster model, used for the bronze and for the Walhalla cast.

Georg Müller, ‘Jahnbüste‘. Marble bust of 19th century nationalist Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778 – 1852), placed in 1928 in the Walhalla, Regensburg. Displayed at the Grosse Münchener Kunstausstellung 1929 in the Glaspalast. A similar bust which was displayed at the GDK 1938, room 20, was probably made of clay.

The Walhalla, Regensburg, 2015.
Left, under: Georg Müller, ‘Friedrich Ludwig Jahn’.
Right, under: Georg Müller, ‘Max Reger’. Left from Müller, Anton Brückner.

On June 6, 1937, the bust of Anton Brückner by Munich sculptor Adolf Rothenburger, was placed in the Walhalla. Hitler was present at the ceremony since Bruckner was -like Wagner- one of his favorite composers, and one with whom he shared an upper Austrian heritage. Joseph Goebbels used this occasion to present a speech which skillfully linked Bruckner’s life and work to the National Socialist aganda of creating ‘German Art‘.

Left: George Müller, ‘Zukunft‘ (‘Future‘). Displayed at the GDK 1941, room 36.
Right: Georg Müller, ‘Kämpfer‘ (‘Fighter‘). GDK 1941, room 29. Bronze. Later, in 1943, also displayed under the name ‘Bereit‘ (‘Ready‘) in the ‘Ausstellung Münchener Kunstler‘, Maximilianeum; depicted in the exhibition catalog.

Left: Georg Müller, ‘Boxer Antonio’, displayed at the ‘Münchener Kunstausstellung 1932 im Deutschen Museum’; depicted in the official exhibition catalogue. Again displayed at the ‘Muenchener Kunst Sonder Ausstellungen in der Neuen Pinakothek’, 1935.
Right: Georg Müller, ‘Relief of Hermann v. Schmid’, a folk poet. Displayed at the ‘Münchener Kunstausstelllung 1942, Maximilianeum. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, 1942.

Georg Müller, ‘Eva‘ or ‘Schreitende’, created in 1929. Bronze, height 90 cm.
Left: displayed under the name ‘Eva’ at the Grosse Münchener Kunstausstellung 1929 in the Glaspalast. Again displayed at the Münchener Kunstausttellung 1939, Maximilianeum and depcted in the exhibition catalogue. In the possession of the Neue Pinakothek, München.
Right: depicted under the name ‘Schreitende’ in the magazine ‘Jugend’, 1939.

Georg Müller, ‘General Ludendorff‘, bronze. Created in 1939. Displayed at the Münchener Kunstausstellung, Maximilianeum, 1940. Also displayed at the ‘Münchner Kunstausstellung Danzig’, 1941.

Left: Georg Müller, ‘Weibliche Figur’, GDK 1937 room 8.
Right: 14 Juli 1937, Adolf Ziegler (right on the photo) during a pre-view of the GDK. At the background, between the men, Georg Müllers ‘Weibliche Figur’.

Georg Müller, ‘Männliche Figur’ (‘Man-figur’), bronze. Displayed at the Grosse Münchener Kunstausstellung in the Glaspalast, 1925; depicted in the exhibition catalogue. Later also displayed at the ‘Muenchener Kunst Sonder Ausstellungen in der Neuen Pinakothek’, 1935.
Again depicted in ‘Kunst für Alle’, 1925/26, with the text’: ‘Bought by the Bavarian State’.

Georg Müller, ‘Weibliche Figur’ (‘Female Figure’), 1918. Depicted in ‘Die Kunst für alle’, 1925/26. Cement-cast, height 93,5 cm, in the possession of the Neue Pinakothek, München. The figure was later in 1935 displayed at the ‘Grosse Deutsche Kunstausstellung’, Neue Pinakothek.
Left: ‘Weibliche Figur’ by Müller, depicted in ‘Die Kunst für alle’, 1925/26;
Right: ‘Weibliche Figur’ by Müller, in the possession of the Neue Pinakothek in Munich (cement-cast).

Left and middle: Georg Müller, ‘Bärenbrunnen’ (‘Bear-fountain’), 1936, Elisabethplatz, Munich. The inscription ‘Des Menschen Seele gleicht dem wasser‘ (‘The human souls is like water‘) is the first sentence of Goethe poem ‘Gesang der Geister über dem Wasser‘. Other inscriptions on the ‘Kirchheimer-shell-limestone’ are: ‘Alle kommt zum Quell‘, ‘Korn gibt Brot‘, ‘Alles Leben fließt‘, ‘Wasser macht die Augen heil‘, ‘Traubensaft gibt Kraft‘, ‘Froh und munter auf und runter‘, ‘Raub macht Durst‘. The stone is decorated with figures of people, and animals like a bear, a duck, a fox, a fish and a lobster. Photos taken in recent years.
Right: ‘Bärenbrunnen’, depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, 1938 and 1942 (also depicted in ‘Kunst dem Volk’, 1942).

Full text of Goethe’s ‘Gesang der Geister über dem Wasser‘:

‘Badende’ (Bathing’)
A cast of ‘Badende’ (‘Bathing’) by Müller was displayed at:
– the Int. Kunstausstellung der Münchener Secession, 1911 (silver): depicted in the exhibition catalogue;
– the ‘Muenchener Kunst Sonder Ausstellungen in der Neuen Pinakothek’, 1935 (bronze);
– the GDK 1940, room 36 (bronze);
– the ‘Münchner Kunstausstellung Danzig’, 1941 (bronze).

Georg Müller, ‘Zwergbrunnen‘ (‘Dwarf-fountain‘), 1924, Munich (Feldmoching). The fountain, designed by Georg Müller, is placed in front of the Memorial for the fallen solders in WWI, WWII and for the 14 million expelled German civilians. Immediately behind this Memorial, there is another War Memorial of 1897, commemorating the fallen solders in the 1866, 1870 and 1871 (War of German reunification).

Catalogue of the ‘Münchener Kunst Sonder Ausstellungen‘, in the Neue Pinakothek, 1935. No less then 15 works by Georg Müller were displayed at this ‘Sonderausstellung’ (on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the ‘Neue Münchner Secession’). Again also the bust of Max Reger was shown, accompanied with the tekst: ‘Saved from the fire in the Glaspalast’.

Georg Müller, ‘Kreuztragungsgruppe’ (‘Carrying the Cross’), 1911. Monumental work of nine meters high, located at the Ostfriedhof in Munich (Munich Graveyard).

Left: Georg Müller, ‘Männliches Porträt’ (‘Men-portrait’), 1932. Displayed at the ‘Staatliche Kunst-Ausstellung München’, 1933, in the Neue Pinakothek. Depicted in the exhibition catalogue.
Right: ‘Männliches Portrait’ by Müller, in the possession of the Neue Pinakothek. Bronze with golden patina. Size 54 x 16 x 12,5 cm.

‘Giovinotto in piedi’
George Müller, ‘Junger Mann‘ (‘Young man‘), signed 1920. Created in cement. Displayed at the Grosse Münchener Kunstausstellung in the Glaspalast, 1930: depicted in the exhibition catalogue. Again displayed at the ‘Muenchener Kunst Sonder Ausstellungen in der Neuen Pinakothek’, 1935.
Displayed at the ‘XXII Venice Biennale 1940’ under the name ‘Giovinotto in piedi’ (‘Young Man Standing’, -cement).
Depicted in ‘Die Kunst’, December, 1938. Height 127 cm. Offered on Ebay-Germany in 2019.
Left: ‘Junger Mann’ by Müller, depicted in ‘Die Kunst für Alle’, December 1938.

Displayed at the ‘XXII Venice Biennale 1940’ under the name ‘Giovinotto in piedi’ (‘Young Man Standing’, -cement). At 17.30 min.

Georg Müller, ‘Mulattin‘ (‘Mulatto Woman‘). Bronze.
Left: a cast of ‘Mulattin’ offered on Ebay in Germany, 2019. Size 14 x 9 x 13,5 cm.
Right: ‘a cast of ‘Mulattin’ displayed at the ‘Muenchener Kunst Sonder Ausstellungen in der Neuen Pinakothek’, 1935. In the possession of the Neue Pinakothek. Same size.

Left: Georg Müller, ‘Silen’, 1910. In Greek mythology, Silenus was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. Displayed at the Internationale Kunstausstellung der Münchner Secession, Kgl. Kunstausstellungsgebäude am Königsplatz, Oktober 1911. Bought by the State of Bavaria.
Right: ‘Silen’ offered in December 2016. Bronze, height 55 cm, weight 12 kg.

Georg Müller, painted by Leo Samberger. Depicted in ‘Münchner Kunstler Köpfe’, 1937. The painting is in the possession of the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen.

Georg Müller
Georg Müller (1880-1952) sun of a cabinet maker and woodcarver, was born in Munich. His family went to the United Sates when he was six years old. In 1896 he began his study of art in the studio of an American sculptor. When he was twenty he stayed some time in France (1900/1901) and visited the Paris World Exhibition. It was at that time he defenitly decided to become a sculptor. Müller studied at art academies in Chicago (1903/1904) as a student of M. von Mauch, and in Munich (1902/1903 and 1904/1906) under the guidance of Professor Von Rümann, Erwin Kurz and finally Hermann Hahn. After his studies he settled in Munich where he became a member of the ‘Münchner Secession’. Müller was, as other German sculptors, clearly inspired by the voluminous women-figures of Aristide Maillol.
His first bronze statue ‘Silen’ was exhibited in the ‘Internationale Kunstaussttellung der Münchner Secession’, Kunstausstellungsgebäude am Königsplatz, 1911; it was bought by the State of Bavaria. At that time Müller created several smaller sculptures (i.a. ‘Badende’), but he finished his first monumental work in 1911: ‘Die Kreuztragungsgruppe’, nine meters high, which he designed for the Munich Graveyard (Münchener Ostfriedhof). The design of the ‘Kreuztragungsgruppe’ was displayed at the ‘XI. Internationalen Kunstausstellung im Kgl. Glaspalast zu München 1913’; at this exhibition Müller was awarded the Medal Second Class. He was awarded the First Price for a design of the Elias-Holl Brunnen in Augsburg (1919), the Lenbachbrunnen in Schrobenshausen (1920), and First and Third Price for his War Memorial in the city of Ansbach (1927).
Other huge monumental works followed, including ‘Schusterbrunnen’ in Pirmasens (1914), ‘Brunnen an der Possartplatz’ in Munich (in 1964 renamed into ‘Shakespeareplatz’), the war memorials in Memmingen, in Pless, in Berg and the extraordinary, prizewinning war memorial of 1927 in Ansbach: the famous naked horseman wearing a Stahlhelm and brandishing a broken sword. The original modell of 1926 for this monument, the high relief named ‘Pferdestudie für die Walhalla’, was displayed at the Grosse Münchener Kunstausstellung, 1927, in the Glaspalast, at the ‘Ausstellung Münchener Künstler’, Preussischen Akademie der Künste Berlin, 1935, and at the Grosse Deutsche Kunstausstellung, 1938 (‘Pferdestudy, Modell für die Walhalla’). Two other exhibitions showed a work by Georg Müller with the name ‘Modell für Kriegerdenkmal in Ansbach’, executed in plaster and ‘half-size’: the Grosse Münchener Kunstaustellung 1928 in the Glaspalast (‘halbe Grösse, Gips’), and the Münchener Kunstausstellung, 1940 in the Maximilianeum (‘halbe Grösse, Gips’). Presumably this was a half-size model of the 1927-Kriegerdenkmal in Ansbach, created in plaster and including the soldier-rider.
For the Deutsches Museum Müller created busts of Johann Kunkel and Robert Koch. For the ‘Walhalla’ in Regensburg he created a marble bust of 19th century nationalist Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (displayed at the GDK 1938, room 20). In the GDK 1940 he displayed a large bust of Goethe, which was bought by Adolf Hitler for 1,000 RM (originally commisioned by Paul Ludwig Troost).
In 1930 Müller created the bust ‘Komponist Max Reger’ (‘Composer Max Reger’), which was displayed:
– at the Kunstausstellung München in the Glaspalast, 1931 (saved from the fire);
– at the Kunstausstellung München in the Deutsches Museum, later in 1931;
– at the ‘Münchener Kunst Sonder Ausstellungen’, 1935, in the Neue Pinakothek;
– at the exhibition ‘Münchener Künstler’, -Preussischen Akademie der Künste Berlin, 1935;
– at the Great German Art Exhibition in 1937, room 2;
– at the XXII Bienalle in Vienna, 1940, under the name ‘Il compositore Max Reger’.
The bust is now in the possession of the Bayerischen Staatsgemäldesammlungen, apparently still with traces of the Glaspalast-fire.
At the exhibition ‘Münchner Kunst’ in the Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1935, no less then 15 works by Georg Müller were displayed (‘Sonderausstellung’ on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the ‘Neue Münchner Secession’), including the original plastermodel of the Schusterbrunnen. At the ‘Olympic Art Exhibition’, 1936 in Berlin, Müller was represented with two works: a plaster cast of ‘Amazone’, 1935, and ‘Leichtathlet’ (‘Athlete’), 1934.
In the Great German Art Exhibitions Müller was represented with 16 sculptures. Among them were ‘Rossebändiger’, ‘Amazone’ (in 1939 as well as in 1943), the bust of Goethe, the bust of Composer Max Reger, the bust of scientist Emil von Behring, the bust of Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, the figure from the Schusterbrunnen (‘Arbeiter’) and the ‘Brunnenfigur from the Possartplatz’ in Munich. Müller took part in exhibitions in Rome, Florence and Tokyo.
At the ‘XXII Venice Biennale 1940’, he was represented with 4 works: ‘Ritratto maschile’ (‘Man-portrait’), ‘Il compositore Max Reger’ (‘Composer Max Reger’), ‘Figura femminile’ (‘Female Figure’) and ‘Giovinotto in piedi’ (‘Young Man Standing’, -cement).
From 1943 to 1944 Müller was professor -as replacement for Joseph Wackerle- at the Munich Art Academy. The works by Müller were depicted in all major German art magazines (i.a. ‘Kunst für Alle’, ‘Jugend’), including magazines popular in the Third Reich (i.a. ‘Kunst im Deutschen Reich’, ‘Kunst dem Volk’).
Georg Müller died in 1952 in Munich.
Two busts of Georg Müller are currently on display in the ‘Walhalla’ in Regensburg. The above mentioned marble bust of the 19th century nationalist Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, is since 1928 located in the Walhalla (the Jahnbust displayed at the GDK 1938, room 20, was a gips model). And in 1948 -on the occasion of his 75 birthday anniversary- a marble bust by Georg Müller of the composer Max Reger was placed in the Walhalla; for this marble bust, the same plaster model was used, as for the bronze cast of Reger. The Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen is in the possession of six works by Georg Müller, including the bust of Josef Sugar, displayed in the Glaspalast 1925. The Goethe bust, found in 1945 in the Monastery of Hohenfurt in the Czech republic, is lost.