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Lot Essay
Müller and his pupil and travelling companion Harry Johnson left England for their tour of Asia Minor in September 1843, meeting the archeologist Charles Fellows en route and spending two sojourns in Smyrna. The majority of this trip to Asia was spent in the Xanthus valley where Fellows was carrying out extensive excavations. It appears that there may have been some tension between the two men resulting from Fellows' fear that Müller might pre-empt his publication on the discoveries made at the site. Sadly, although planned for publication in the 1845 Art-Union, 'Müller's work of Xanthus' was never published due to his untimely death later that year.
On his first visit to Smyrna, Müller remarked 'it is not a picturesque town. It is an ordinary Eastern town, filled with picturesque people; never have I seen so much beautiful costume; while the long strings of camels, laden with fruits and other merchandise, prove highly attractive to the artist' (see F. Greenacre and S. Stoddard, W.J. Müller 1812-1845, Bristol, 1991). Despite the unfamiliar climate and resulting in fatigue Müller's delight in the local culture is clear.
The present watercolour was made on his second visit to Smyrna, on in March 1844. At this time Johnson recalls that Müller was beginning to run out of materials and the rather darker band on the horizon may be a result of his purchasing new ones in Turkey or else one of his many experiments with medium. However, the painting is fluent and in addition to demonstrating the technical confidence that Müller had gained in the last few months this presents a fine example of the subject matter that fascinated him during his time spent in Smyrna.
On his first visit to Smyrna, Müller remarked 'it is not a picturesque town. It is an ordinary Eastern town, filled with picturesque people; never have I seen so much beautiful costume; while the long strings of camels, laden with fruits and other merchandise, prove highly attractive to the artist' (see F. Greenacre and S. Stoddard, W.J. Müller 1812-1845, Bristol, 1991). Despite the unfamiliar climate and resulting in fatigue Müller's delight in the local culture is clear.
The present watercolour was made on his second visit to Smyrna, on in March 1844. At this time Johnson recalls that Müller was beginning to run out of materials and the rather darker band on the horizon may be a result of his purchasing new ones in Turkey or else one of his many experiments with medium. However, the painting is fluent and in addition to demonstrating the technical confidence that Müller had gained in the last few months this presents a fine example of the subject matter that fascinated him during his time spent in Smyrna.