Europa by Judith Müller, oil and acrylic on canvas, 1952. — **u003cemu003eEuropau003c/emu003e by Judith Müller, oil and acrylic on canvas, 1952.** ArchivArte, Bern

Judith Müller – the forgotten artist from Bern

Born into an artistic milieu, Judith Müller influenced Bern’s art scene for decades. Despite producing public murals, taking part in numerous exhibitions and working to raise the profile of female artists, her work has disappeared from the public consciousness.

Rachel Huber

Rachel Huber is a historian and associate researcher at the University of Bern.

Judith Müller still just about passes as an artist of the Modernist era – an artistic period spanning from around 1850 to 1950, which gave rise to some of the most famous artists and most expensive pieces of art sold on the art market. While the late work of Ferdinand Gehr (1896–1996), which he started in the post-war years, or the oeuvre of Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966) and Sophie Täuber Arps (1889–1943) have entered the collective consciousness, the artworks of Judith Müller (1923–1977) have literally disappeared – although she and her twin brother Kaspar were born into a well-known family of Swiss artists in Lugano in 1923.

Typhus and degenerate art

Judith’s father was the famous Expressionist painter Albert Müller (1897–1926), whose closest friend was none other than Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938). Just a year after Judith was born, Albert Müller and others from Kirchner’s circle set up the socially critical artists association known as the ‘Rot-Blau’ group in Basel, which went on to significantly influence the art scene.

Vineyards in Ticino by Albert Müller, oil on canvas, 1925. — **u003cemu003eVineyards in Ticinou003c/emu003e by Albert Müller, oil on canvas, 1925.** Wikimedia

When Judith was just three years old, her father died of typhus. Albert Müller’s children and his wife Anna (née Hübscher) also contracted the deadly disease. Judith’s mother succumbed to it a few weeks after her husband, in 1927. The children survived, but as they were now orphaned, they were brought up by their aunt in Bern.

Albert Müller’s paintings exhibited in Germany were later seized by the Nazis as part of their ‘degenerate art’ campaign. One was destroyed and the other is still lost. Judith later took over the administration of his estate.

In 1940 Judith attended vocational college and a year later, Max von Mühlenen’s painting school in Bern. Between 1947 and 1948, she trained as a stained-glass artist with Paul Wüthrich, also in Bern. This was unusual at the time – few women trained as artists and these occupations were heavily male dominated.

As early as 1941/42, aged just 19, she exhibited her paintings for the first time at the annual Christmas exhibition of painters and sculptors from Bern. From then on, her work featured at this exhibition nearly every year for three decades.

**Poster advertising the Christmas exhibition at the Kunsthalle Bern. This is where Judith Müller exhibited her works over many years.** Poster collection, SfG Basel, CH-000957-X:18470

Judith Müller’s works were exhibited alongside those of famous Swiss artists at the Kunsthalle Bern. For example, Margrit Linck-Daepp and Meret Oppenheim also presented their work at the exhibition for the Bern section of the Swiss Society of Women Artists in the Visual Arts in 1953 and 1971.

All her life – from 1942 until her death in 1977 – her studio was located at the renowned artists’ residence at Postgasse 20 in Bern – a hub of creativity where Meret Oppenheim also worked. The building is the second from the right on the photo. Wikimedia

Commitment to the Swiss women’s movement

The Society of Swiss Painters, Sculptors and Architects GSMBA had existed since 1866 and was composed only of men. Women were not admitted and the society’s attitude was deeply misogynistic. Ferdinand Hodler, an influential member of the group, even exclaimed “Mir wei kener Wyber!” (“We don’t want any women!”).

The fact that women were excluded from the official artists’ association meant that they were not involved in official national exhibitions. This existential crisis led to the establishment of the Societé romande des femmes peintres et sculpteurs (Swiss society of women painters and sculptors) in French-speaking Switzerland under the founding president, Berthe Sandoz-Lassieur in 1902. Other regional sections were added, and the society was later renamed as the Swiss Society of Women Artists in the Visual Arts (SSWA). It still exists today, although the GSMBA was compelled to admit female artists following the introduction of women’s suffrage.

Judith Müller was a member of the SSWA from 1953. To make a stand for the female cause, and because she had an extensive network and knew many other women and female artists, Müller exhibited her work at the second Swiss Exhibition for Women’s Work in 1958. The painting she exhibited was entitled Le Poète and is arguably one of her finest.

Judith Müller exhibited the painting Le Poète at the second Swiss Exhibition for Women’s Work. — **Judith Müller exhibited the painting u003cemu003eLe Poèteu003c/emu003e at the second Swiss Exhibition for Women’s Work.** Photo: Rachel Huber

Forgotten, hidden and invisible

As well as producing classic paintings, Judith Müller also painted various murals for public buildings, most of which no longer exist, such as the one in Fremo, the former women’s shoe shop in Bern. One that has survived, but is hidden, is the huge and impressive mural Elftausend Jungfrauen (Eleven thousand virgins) in the main post office in Basel. We can only imagine how powerful the work actually is.

The mural Elftausend Jungfrauen in the counter hall of the main post office in Basel. It is no longer visible to the public and has been partly obstructed. — **The mural u003cemu003eElftausend Jungfrauenu003c/emu003e in the counter hall of the main post office in Basel. It is no longer visible to the public and has been partly obstructed.** ArchivArte, Bern / mural.ch, photo: Dirk Weiss

Judith Müller decided to take her own life in 1977. The tragedy of her early years therefore remained part of her story until the end.

**Portrait of Judith Müller, undated.** ArchivArte, Bern

Considering her eventful and tragic family history, her eclectic work, and her commitment to raising the profile of female artists in Switzerland, it’s hard to understand why her name has been all but erased from the history books.

More of: 20th / 21st century Society Women in history Culture Art

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