William James Müller

signed and dated WMüller 1845 lower left

Martyn Gregory Gallery, London, 1979
Davis & Long Company, New York (no. DL-1226 as Camels & Arab Figures, Carnac), 1980

The paper is laid down along edges to mat. The surface is light struck with old mat stains along extreme edges and the top left corner has been repaired.
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After exhibiting compositions inspired by his native Bristol as well as his travels throughout the Continent, William James Müller left England in September 1838 for Egypt -- making him one of the first European artists to explore the ancient land.  In late December Müller left the crowded streets of Alexandria and Cairo to begin a 400 mile journey up the Nile, arriving in Thebes around January 1, 1839 (Francis Greenacre and Sheena Stoddard, W. J. Müller, 1812-1845, exh. cat., Bristol Museums and Art Gallery, 1991, pp. 105-7).  Among the many locations Müller explored and painted en plein air were the East Bank’s temples of Karnak and Luxor, plus the West Bank’s Medinet Habu and its small Eighteenth Dynasty Amun temple, depicted in the present work.  While Müller’s contemporaries depended on archeological displays in museums or scholarly publications to inform similar compositions, Müller recorded first-hand the specifics of the ancient temple, with the Ptolemaic pylon and porch columns that extend into the Roman court, and his impression of the Egyptian landscape -- from the travellers resting in small pool of cool shadow, to the great expanse of yellow sand, and the hazy blue Theban hills in the distance. Müller returned to England with a large number of watercolors completed during his trip, which continued to inspire him for years. The present work is dated 1845, suggesting the artist may have returned to a work left unsigned during his travels, or it may have been completed from memory.

We would like to thank both Peter Lacavora, Curator at Emory University, Senior Curator of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum and Dr. Robert Morkot for their assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.