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Lot Essay
The present work, Cairo marketplace, is one of the prototypes for Müller's most important painting of the same subject, Cairo marketplace, 1878, housed today in the collection of the Österreichische Galerie in Vienna.
Léopold Carl Müller first travelled to Egypt in 1873, and thereafter returned on several occasions to Cairo, Alexandria and throughout the lands of Upper Egypt. Egypt's daily life and landscapes embodied the artist's vision of the exotic Orient, and during his early voyages, Müller began painting studies from nature, from which he later would execute full-sized works in his studio in Vienna. Yet, his desire for accuracy soon led him to start painting large format canvases directly on site, an example of which can be seen in the present picture.
The Egyptian paintings of Müller exerted a strong influence upon the Viennese school of Orientalists, and his finely wrought compositions, elegant colouring, and carefully rendered figures combine to reveal a genius that has consistently maintained a broad appeal.
Léopold Carl Müller first travelled to Egypt in 1873, and thereafter returned on several occasions to Cairo, Alexandria and throughout the lands of Upper Egypt. Egypt's daily life and landscapes embodied the artist's vision of the exotic Orient, and during his early voyages, Müller began painting studies from nature, from which he later would execute full-sized works in his studio in Vienna. Yet, his desire for accuracy soon led him to start painting large format canvases directly on site, an example of which can be seen in the present picture.
The Egyptian paintings of Müller exerted a strong influence upon the Viennese school of Orientalists, and his finely wrought compositions, elegant colouring, and carefully rendered figures combine to reveal a genius that has consistently maintained a broad appeal.