Study of Trees by a Mountain Stream

William James Müller

1833–45 · Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over graphite, with reductive techniques, stopping out, and gum arabic on blue-gray card · Drawings and Prints

A leader of the Bristol School, Müller’s life was cut short by illness at the height of his powers. Influenced by the expressive naturalism of John Sell Cotman, whose works he studied in the collection of a friend, the Rev. James Bulwer, Müller sketched out of doors in all weathers. In the 1830s he traveled to Europe and the Middle East, but likely found the present subject closer to home. The mountains of Wales were not far from Bristol, and Muller visited them in the winter of 1842 and autumn of 1843. The sparse leaves clinging to a branch in this drawing link the work to the latter tour, while the free execution is characteristic of the artist’s late style.

Artist

William James Müller

Date

1833–45

Medium

Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over graphite, with reductive techniques, stopping out, and gum arabic on blue-gray card

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harry G. Sperling Fund, 2017