Alphons Leopold Mielich
{{Short description|Austrian orientalist painter}}
{{Infobox artist
| bgcolour=
| name = Alphons Leopold Mielich
| image = File:Leopold Alphonse Mielich Orientalische Marktszene.jpg|
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| caption = Orientalische Marktszene [Oriental Market Scene] by Mielich
| birth_name = Alphons Leopold Mielichhofer
| birth_date = 27 January 1863
| birth_place = Klosterneuburg, near Vienna
| death_date = 25 January 1929
| death_place = Salzburg
| nationality = Austrian
| field=
| training=
| movement = Orientalist scenes
| works=
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Alphons Leopold Mielich (27 January 1863 – 25 January 1929) was an Austrian painter noted for his orientalist scenes. He participated in a team responsible for documenting the frescoes in an Umayyad castle at Qasr Amra, including the famous Painting of the Six Kings and provided the illustrations for a published book on the findings, Kusejr 'Amra, published in 1907. He is also responsible for the destruction of most of the Painting of the Six Kings, as it was severely damaged when he attempted to forcibly relocate the paintings to Germany.
Life and career
Alphons Leopold Mielichhofer was born in Klosterneuburg, near Vienna on 27 January 1863. Mikešová, M., "Austria‑Hungary and Egypt (1882–1914)," Prague Papers on the History of International Relations, Vol. 1, 2014, p. 74; Mayr-Oehring, E., Faszination Landschaft, Salzburger Residenzgalerie, 1995, p. 84 He received his art education in Paris, London and Munich.Fowden, G., Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria, University of California Press, 2004 p. 12 He served as a lieutenant of artillery in the Austrian Army until 1887 when his military career ended prematurely due to ill health. Mikešová, M., "Austria‑Hungary and Egypt (1882–1914)," Prague Papers on the History of International Relations, Vol. 1, 2014, pp 63-78; Orient: Österreichische Malerei zwischen 1848 und 1914, Salzburger Residenzgalerie, 1997, p. 370; Husslein-Arco, A. and Grabner, S., Orient & Occident: Travelling 19th Century Austrian Painters, Belvedere, 2012, p. 48
In 1889, he travelled to the Middle East as part of his convalescence,Mikešová, M., "Austria‑Hungary and Egypt (1882–1914)," Prague Papers on the History of International Relations, Vol. 1, 2014, pp 63-78; Fowden, G., Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria, University of California Press, 2004 p. 13; Haslauer, E, and Winbigler, J., "Egypt in Nineteenth-Century Vienna: A Phantasm?" Journal of Visual Resources, vol. 23, 2007, pp 85-103, DOI: 10.1080/01973760701219446; Fontana, M.V., "Su Una Possible Raffiguazione Della Storie di Giona a Qusayr 'Amra," Rivista Degli Studi Orientali, Vol. 85, No. 1/4, 2012, pp. 279-303; Husslein-Arco, A. and Grabner, S., Orient & Occident: Travelling 19th Century Austrian Painters, Belvedere, 2012, p. 48 and remained there for several years.Orient: Österreichische Malerei zwischen 1848 und 1914, Salzburger Residenzgalerie, 1997, p. 370 He returned to Egypt another eleven times before the outbreak of war in 1914. Mikešová, M., "Austria‑Hungary and Egypt (1882–1914)," Prague Papers on the History of International Relations, Vol. 1, 2014, p.74; Haslauer, E, and Winbigler, J., "Egypt in Nineteenth-Century Vienna: A Phantasm?" Journal of Visual Resources, vol. 23, 2007, pp 85-103, DOI: 10.1080/01973760701219446 His visits to the Middle-East became vitally important to his career since most of his work concerns Orientalist themes.Mikešová, M., "Austria‑Hungary and Egypt (1882–1914)," Prague Papers on the History of International Relations, Vol. 1, 2014, p. 74; Mayr-Oehring, E., Faszination Landschaft, Salzburger Residenzgalerie, 1995, p. 84
On his 1901 voyage to the Middle East, he accompanied Czech scholar Alois Musil to work on the documentation of the Umayyad castle at Qasyr 'Amra, then in the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Jordan).Haslauer, A., After One Hundred Years: Islamic Art in Vienna circa 1900 and the Munich Exhibition, BRILL, 2010, p.270; Fowden, G., Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria, University of California Press, 2004 p. 13 and p. 23l; Fowden, G. and Fowden, E.K., "Studies on Hellenism, Christianity and the Umayyads," University of Virginia Press, p. 27 His brief was to document the paintings and frescoes in the ancient castle by copying them faithfully. Haslauer, A., After One Hundred Years: Islamic Art in Vienna circa 1900 and the Munich Exhibition, BRILL, 2010, p.270; Fowden, G., Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria, University of California Press, 2004 p. 13 and p. 23l; Fowden, G. and Fowden, E.K., "Studies on Hellenism, Christianity and the Umayyads," University of Virginia Press, p. 10 and p. 27 Almost as soon as they had arrived, they were attacked by local rebels who stole all their camels. Fowden, G., Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria, University of California Press, 2004 p. 13 Sometime later, they realised that the attack had been a misunderstanding and their camels were returned. Fowden, G., Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria, University of California Press, 2004 p. 13 However, before that, the pair had resolved to remain on site on account of the paintings' immense historical interest which Mielich had noted.Fowden, G., Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria, University of California Press, 2004 pp. 10–12; Lermer, A. and Shalem, A. (eds), After One Hundred Years: The 1910 Exhibition "Meisterwerke Muhammedanischer Kunst" Reconsidered, BRILL, 2010, p. 270 The partnership between Musil and Mielich resulted in the publication of a two-volume work, Kusejr 'Amra, in which Mielich's drawings took up the second volume.Fowden, G., Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria, University of California Press, 2004 p. 13
Musil describes Mielich's reaction upon first sighting the paintings at Qusayr 'Amra:Haja, M. Zwischen Traum und Wirklichkeit: Die österreichische Orientmalerei im 19.Jahrhundert, in : Mayr-Oehring, Erika [Hg.]: Orient: österre ichische Malerei zwischen 1848 und 1914 (Ausst.Kat.], Residenzgalerie Salzburg, 20.7. - 24.9.1997, Salzburg), Residenzgalerie, Salzburg, 1997
: "I followed him [Mielich] quickly and with a throbbing heart, then understandably, I wished to observe what impression the paintings would make on the art expert. My eyes were firmly fixed on his face and I saw that he was satisfied as his features became transfigured and his eyes beamed with enthusiasm. Again and again he uttered, "Great, truly great."
On Mielich's return from the Middle East, a bitter disagreement arose between Musil and Mielich. Fowden, G., Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria, University of California Press, 2004 p. 13 This culminated in a legal action surrounding Mielich's removal and subsequent sale of some of the pieces of the wall paintings without Musil's knowledge or consent. These pieces, including fragments of the Painting of the Six Kings{{cite book|last=Fowden|first=Garth|title=Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YKY9MuRTFQ4C|date=20 September 2004|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-92960-9|page=12}} remain in Berlin where they form part of the Museum Islamicher Kunst.Fowden, G., Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria, University of California Press, 2004 p. 13; Lermer, A. and Shalem, A. (eds), After One Hundred Years: The 1910 Exhibition "Meisterwerke Muhammedanischer Kunst" Reconsidered, BRILL, 2010, pp. 270–271
In 1910, Mielich's work was featured in the exhibition, Meisterwerke Muhammedanischer Kunst, [Masterpieces of Muhammedan Art], in Munich, a mammoth and unprecedented exhibition of exotic art featuring some 3,600 artworks from more than 250 collections. Troelenberg, E-M., "Regarding the exhibition: the Munich exhibition Masterpieces of Muhammadan Art (1910) and its scholarly position," Journal of Art Historiography. No. 6, 2012. pp 1-34; Mikešová, M., "Austria‑Hungary and Egypt (1882–1914)," Prague Papers on the History of International Relations, Vol. 1, 2014, pp 63-78 Mielich regularly exhibited in Vienna, Paris, London, as well as in various German and Russian cities. From 1894, he was a member of the Viennese artist group "Wiener Kuenstlerhaus".{{cite book|author1=Erika Mayr-Oehring|author2=Martina Haja|author3=Residenzgalerie Salzburg|title=Orient: Austrian painting between 1848 and 1914|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RYHqAAAAMAAJ|year=1997|publisher=Die Galerie|page=368}}
He died in Salzburg in 1929, aged 65.Mikešová, M., "Austria‑Hungary and Egypt (1882–1914)," Prague Papers on the History of International Relations, Vol. 1, 2014, pp 63-78; Mayr-Oehring, E., Faszination Landschaft, Salzburger Residenzgalerie, 1995, p. 84
Work
He worked in oils, pastels and water-colours and produced sketches. His most well-known works are his numerous paintings of Cairo and surrounds. Some of these were acquired by Kaiser Franz Josef I and the Austrian Ministry of Education.Orient: Österreichische Malerei zwischen 1848 und 1914, Salzburger Residenzgalerie, 1997, p. 371 His works can be found in the collections in museums such as the Austrian National Gallery (Belvedere),Austrian National Gallery, "The Collection," Online:https://digital.belvedere.at/search/Mielich museums of Salzburg, and the Shafik Gabr Collection.The Shafik Gabr Collection, "The Paintings," Online: https://eastwestdialogue.org/about/the-paintings/the-shafik-gabr-collection/
File:Alphons Leopold Mielich - Fellahin, Motif on the Road to Giza near Cairo.jpg|Fellahin, Motif on the Road to Giza near Cairo, date unknown
File:Alphons Leopold Mielich Orientalische Straßenszene.jpg|Orientalische Straßenszen [Oriental street scene], date unknown
File:Alfons Leopold Mielich - Der Teppichverkäufer.jpg|Der Teppichverkäufer [The Rug Merchant], c.1900
File:Amra5.jpg|Reproduction of damaged fresco from Kusejr 'amra und Schlösser östlich von Moab, Volume 2, 1907 by Mielich
Publication
- Kusejr 'amra und Schlösser östlich von Moab, [two volumes] Carl Gerold's Sohn, 1907 by Alois Musil and Alphons Mielich (Mielich contributed the artwork which comprises volume 2)
Select list of paintings
- The Camel Driver Resting
- On the Nile
- The Pottery Seller
- View of the Citadel of Cairo, 1900 [Now in the Austrian National Gallery]
- The Desert Castle, Qusair 'Amra, 1901 [Now in the Austrian National Gallery]
- Man from Assuan, Egypt 1912
- A Desert Town at Dawn
- A Lying Bedouin 1909
- Prayer at the Muhammad Ali Mosque, Cairo, [now in The Shafik Gabr Collection]
- Fellah women, a scene on the road to Giza near Cairo, date unknown
- School in Benassa, undated [Now in the Austrian National Gallery]
See also
References
{{reflist}}
= Bibliography =
- {{cite book|last=Fowden|first=Garth|title=Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YKY9MuRTFQ4C|date=20 September 2004|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-92960-9}}; also available at https://archive.org/details/GarthFowdenQusayrAmraArtAndTheUmayyadBookZZ.org
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Category:Austrian male painters
Category:Austrian Orientalist painters