The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Müller, Johann Gotthard von

MÜLLER. I. Johann Gotthard von, a German engraver, born at Bernhausen, near Stuttgart, May 4, 1747, died in Stuttgart, March 14, 1830. He prepared himself for the church, but attended at the same time the academy of fine arts. He studied engraving in Paris, where he remained from 1770 to 1776, when he was admitted to the French academy of fine arts, and was appointed by Duke Charles to found a school of art at Stuttgart, which under his guidance produced many excellent artists. Among his best prints are the “Battle of Bunker Hill,” after Trumbull's picture, Raphael's Madonna della Seggiola, St. Catharine after Leonardo da Vinci, and a portrait of Louis XVI. II. Johann Friedrich Wilhelm, son of the preceding, born in Stuttgart in 1782, died near Dresden, May 3, 1816. After a careful training under his father he completed his studies in Paris, where besides other works he executed engravings of “St. John” and “St. Cecilia” after Domenichino. After preparing in Rome for the engraving of Raphael's Madonna di San Sisto, he devoted the remainder of his life to that masterpiece, his reproduction of which is one of the finest achievements of the art. In 1814 he was appointed professor in the academy at Dresden, but his health being impaired by overwork, he retired. He engraved in all only 18 plates.