Bertha Müller

Bertha Müller (1848–1937), Austrian, Bertha Mathilde Müller, an Austrian painter, was born on October 28, 1848, in Vienna, where she also passed away on January 26, 1937. Born into a family with a strong artistic lineage, her father, Leopold Franz Müller, was a lithographer and the owner of the Vienna Lithographic Institute, and her mother, Josefa Müller, née Bichler, hailed from a family that valued the arts. Bertha was one of five children, including her brother Leopold Carl Müller, a renowned painter, and her sisters Marie Müller and Josefine Müller, the latter marrying painter Eduard Swoboda. The early loss of their parents left Leopold Carl to care for his younger sisters, a responsibility he embraced as the family's financial situation improved around 1870.
Bertha Müller's artistic journey began in earnest when she attended the preparatory school of the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts as a guest student from 1877 to 1879. Alongside her sister Marie, she later shared a small studio space in their brother's academy studio, where he provided them with instruction. Their artistic circle expanded to include August von Pettenkofen, who, upon his death in 1889, bequeathed them both money and his studio at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Forced to relocate in 1902 after the academy terminated their lease, Bertha and Marie established a new studio in Köstlergasse. Beyond Vienna, Bertha's artistic endeavors took her to Stuttgart, where she was associated with the Württemberg Women Teachers' Association and the Württemberg Women Painters' Association from 1903 to 1907. Her oeuvre, characterized by a realistic style, included portraits, still lifes, and interiors. Despite her talent, particularly in portraiture, Bertha remained somewhat overshadowed by her sister Marie's fame. Notably, she gained recognition for her oil copies of portraits by Heinrich von Angeli of members of the Prussian royal family, including a bust of Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland in 1890, and was commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II to produce replicas of a full-length portrait of his mother.