Page - 301 - in Rudolf Eitelberger von Edelberg - Netzwerker der Kunstwelt

Rudolf von Eitelberger and Leopold Carl Müller 301 on Dalmatia was, as Matthew Rampley has discussed, in part a political concern with nascent Slavic nationalism encouraged by Russia and he sought to anchor the region in Western Roman/Italian, rather than Eastern Byzantine, foundations.34 The thought of sponsoring a painting of Ottoman-Egyptian life would not have been especially ap- pealing, despite his admiration for Egyptian rugs and textiles, antiquities, and a general interest in the region.35 Müller, however, did share some of Eitelberger’s political beliefs, which were fomented by the Russian-Turkish War of 1877/78. Müller detested Rus- sia, despised Germany for forming an alliance with the country, and, in February 1878, frantically reported to Georg Ebers that “die asiatischen Barbaren”  – meaning Russia and the coalition of Balkan Slavs  – were poised to overrun Constantinople.36 Müller, despite his concerns about content, wrote to Eitelberger on 9  April that he was very pleased with the commission and the confidence in his abilities that it reflect- 34 M. Rampley, The Vienna School of Art History : Empire and the Politics of Scholarship, 1847– 1918, University Park, Pennsylvania 2013, pp.  22–25 and pp.  170 f. 35 Eitelberger’s library (see pp.  478 ff. in this Jahrbuch) included several books on ancient Egypt and the Mid-East (especially Jerusalem) and a few on North Africa. Among these were S. Sharpe, Geschichte Egyptens, Leipzig 1848, G. Parthey, Wanderungen durch das Nilthal, Berlin 1840, E. Brücke, Beiträge zur Lautlehre der arabischen Sprache, Vienna 1860, and J. Braun, Das Niltal und Mesopotamien, Wiesbaden 1856. 36 Müller to Georg Ebers, 7  February 1878, in Zemen (ed.), Leopold Carl Müller (cit. n.  2), p.  360. Fig. 6 : Leopold Carl Müller, Lagernde Beduinen bei den Pyramiden, 1874, oil on canvas, private collection.