Leopold Carl Müller

Henry Wallis, London (acquired from the artist by June 1880)
William Henry Vanderbilt, New York (acquired from the above through his art dealer Samuel P. Avery on June 20, 1880)
George Washington Vanderbilt II, New York (by descent from the above, his father)
Brigadier General Cornelius Vanderbilt, New York (by descent from the above, his uncle, and sold, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, April 18 and 19, 1945, lot 77)
Private Collection, New York (possibly acquired at the above sale)
Thence by descent

New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, circa 1902-1920 (on loan from George W. Vanderbilt)

Edward Strahan, ed., The Art Treasures of America, Philadelphia, 1879, vol. II, p. 114, in the 1977 facsimile edition, vol. III, p. 108
Collection of W.H. Vanderbilt, 640 Fifth Avenue, New York, n.p., 1882, p. 7, no. 10
Edward Strahan, Mr. Vanderbilt's House and Collection, New York, circa 1883-84, vol. 4, p. 101 (as Bazaar Street, Cairo), illustrated opposite title page (in a color engraving; the work as hung in the picture gallery)
Catalogue of the Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1905, p. 199 (Gallery 16, no. 2)
John Denison Champlin, ed., Cyclopedia of Painters & Paintings, New York, 1913, vol. III, p. 312 (as Oriental Market Scene)
Bryson Burroughs, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Catalogue of the Paintings, New York, 1914, p. 191 (M91, Gallery 16), and in 1917 edition p. 210 (M92-51, Gallery 16)
The New International Encyclopedia, New York, 1916, 2nd ed., vol. XVI, p. 405
Herbert Zemen, Leopold Carl Müller, 1834-1892: Briefe und Dokumente, Vienna, 1996, p. 101
Herbert Zemen, Leopold Carl Müller im Künstlerhaus: die Orientbilder, Vienna, 1998, p. 131
Herbert Zemen, Leopold Carl Müller, 1834-1892: ein Künstlerbildnis nach Briefen und Dokumenten: Anhang: 32 Naturstudien aus Ägypten in in-und ausländischem Museums-und Privatbesitz, Vienna, 2001, p. 594

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This oil on panel is in beautiful condition. The panel is made from two sections of mahogany joined vertically and reinforced with two horizontal bars on the reverse, one at the top and one at the bottom. The painting is clean and varnished and the paint layer is in lovely condition. There are a few isolated retouches that have been added in the dark dress of the girl holding the oranges and a vertical restoration in the neck of the seated veiled woman at lower left. There is a small retouch in the cheek of the seated boy with the blue headdress and a small retouch near the ankle of the standing bearded figure in the center. There is another small spot in the dark area to the right of the figure riding a camel. All these retouches are incidental, and probably address a pentiment or unevenness to the paint layer rather than paint loss or damage. I would be happy to answer any further questions about this painting.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

While the specific source of Leopold Carl Müller's fascination with Egypt is unclear, the North African country's abiding hold on the Viennese artist is perhaps best summarized in one of his attempts to explain the enigmatic appeal of the capital city, resolving to simply call it the "magic of Cairo" (Günther Wimmer, "The Orientalist Painter Leopold Carl Müller," The Orient, Austrian Painting between 1848 and 1914, Salzburg, 1997, p. 299).  There is little documentation of Müller's departures and arrivals in Egypt, however, it is known that Müller visited Egypt on nine occasions between 1873 and 1886, earning the nickname "Müller the Egyptian" from his students at the Vienna Academy.  A letter from the artist from 1875 mentions he had spent almost six months in Egypt two years earlier, which suggests Müller arrived in Egypt in December 1873. This initial impression set the course of his artistic career and his reaction was immediate – instead of visiting Syria following this trip, as planned, he hurried straight back to Vienna so that he would not lose the invaluable impressions made by this beautiful land.

Muller was perhaps most taken with the clear, hard sunlight in the North African country and its ability to ignite color and transform figures and buildings into dramatic passages of light and shadow. Müller credited the Egyptian air as enhancing this spectacular visual atmosphere: "The air is a dazzling brilliance, and all objects, even the most colourless, gleam like diamonds in this ocean of air" (Wimmer, p. 306).  Müller felt compelled to transcribe what he saw, though understood the practical necessity of studio works. As an academic painter, he felt this to be a dilemma: "It makes a big difference whether you paint comfortably in your studio or whether you work out in the open, under a rapidly marching sun" (Wimmer, p. 306). To maintain a level of authenticity in his work, Müller made hundreds of figure studies during his numerous trips to Egypt which served him in the creation of his complex compositions. He began by painting sketches while there, which he later transformed to finished works in his studios in Vienna and Venice. During an early trip to Cairo, he even sent a "big crate" filled with various props back to Vienna (Wimmer, p. 376).  In addition to these aides memoires, Müller made extensive use of the new medium of photography, from at least the 1870s forward. In 1880-81, he even recorded that his luggage contained a "photographic camera" (Wimmer, p. 304). Such materials help to explain Müller's compelling depictions of figures in motion and the convincing rendition of brilliant sunlight, as it falls over fabrics, skin, and architecture.

In October 1880, Müller embarked on his sixth trip to Egypt and the visit that prompted A Street Scene, Cairo, later completed in his studio in Vienna. This depiction of a lively marketplace reveals Müller's interest in faithfully transcribing the dress, physiognomy and culture of his subjects. The two central male figures appear to be in discussion, perhaps considering a transaction of some sort. The figure on the right wears a kufiya, a square of fabric held in place by circlet made of camel hair (the `iqual), which distinguishes him as an Arab or Bedouin. The bright red color may refer to Jordan's kufiya which was traditionally red and white checked. The bearded figure on the left dons a turban, most commonly found in North Africa. Müller convincingly captures the coarse stiffness of their garments and their dust-coated feet evoke the dryness of the land. Deep shadows carve into their chiseled faces, suggesting a relentless midday sun. To the left, two children crouch next to a Muslim woman wearing a yashmak (a Turkish type of veil tied behind the head by strings and sometimes supported over the nose by a small piece of metal). She is selling vegetables from a woven basket, as well as sugar cane, an inexpensive treat for poorer children. The children's skintones and features accurately reflect the various ethnicities encountered in a Cairo marketplace in the nineteenth century. In the still life in the lower left corner, Müller's approach to light and texture is compelling: the waxy hardness of the vegetable skin shines in the sunlight while the sticky sheen of the sugarcane stalks is palpable. An orange seller is seen in the left background, a common sight in Cairo marketplaces and an extremely popular subject for nineteenth century Orientalist painters (see fig. 2). Above the crowd Müller depicts the coarse time-worn façades of the surrounding buildings, a small glimpse of cobalt blue sky along the top edge providing a visual break in the monochromatic structures.

This subject of a Cairo marketplace had appeared in the artist's oeuvre two years earlier in an ambitious painting entitled Marketplace outside of Cairo (fig. 2). It is considered one of his most important paintings and many figures seen in this painting are repeated in the present work, including the Muslim woman in her yashmak and the bearded male figure. Models were a luxury, as Müller's noted: "The models are so expensive. I spend between 5 and 10 francks on them practically every day" (Wimmer, p. 376).

Due to family obligations which demanded his attention, Müller did not achieve success as an artist until 1876 when was forty-two-years old. A series of fortuitous events occurred that year that helped establish his reputation as it exists today: he met the Prince of Wales, which led to numerous commissions and introductions in London society; he was appointed professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna; and he began a lucrative relationship with the influential London paintings dealer Henry Wallis. Müller's relationship with Wallis was perhaps most pivotal for the artist and propelled him into the ranks of the highest earning artists of the time. It was Wallis who brokered the sale of the present work to American billionaire and influential art collector William H. Vanderbilt over one hundred years ago, bringing this important Orientalist painting to the United States, where it has remained ever since.