Müller, William James (1812 – 1845) – ‘A Cholera Funeral – a True Scene’; on the left victims’ clothes are burned, to the right a coffin is carried to a boat to be buried at sea.
Müller, William James (1812 - 1845)
'A Cholera Funeral - a True Scene'; on the left victims' clothes are burned, to the right a coffin is carried to a boat to be buried at sea.
Watercolour. c.1832. Signed and inscribed verso, 'A Cholera Funeral - A True Scene'. Verso: a study of a tree on a river bank. Provenance: H. Virtue Tebbs; his sale Christies, March 10th 1900 (Lot. 27) [...]; Spink (K37711) [...]; A and H 2004; Private Collection, U.S.A. Literature: For another work by Muller related to the 1832 cholera epidemic that ravaged Bristol see, Francis Greenacre and Sheena Stoddard, 'William James Muller', Bristol Art Gallery, 1991, Cat No.20. We would like to thank Francis Greenacre for his help in cataloguing this picture.
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Muller here uses his technical virtuosity to create a work that is both Romantic and documentary. The Cholera epidemic of July - September 1832 was Britain's first major outbreak of the disease. It ravaged Bristol. On the left of the composition we see Cholera victims' clothes being burnt as was obligatory. On the right a coffin is carried to a boat to be taken out into the Bristol Channel and buried at sea.
See available works by this artist.
This work appears in the Exhibition:
British Works on Paper 2026 (Incl. David Bindman Collection)