He became known for his haunting black and white portraits of all the Federal Chancellors: The photographer Konrad R. Müller died at the age of 83. While traveling and attending appearances by politicians, he witnessed historical encounters.
The photographer Konrad Rufus Müller has died at the age of 83. He succumbed to a long, serious illness on Saturday evening, his wife told the dpa news agency. Müller became known primarily through his portraits of all the Federal Chancellors.
The black and white photos of the chancellors – from Konrad Adenauer (CDU) to Olaf Scholz (SPD) – have an intense visual language. Müller did without spotlights, tripods and other accessories. According to his own statement, he only ever used two cameras – he avoided digital photography.
Photo gallery
The Chancellor’s Photographer
Witness historical encounters
Müller was present on countless trips and at appearances by the Chancellors and became a contemporary witness, for example when Helmut Kohl met Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Bonn in the summer of 1989, or when the CDU politician visited French President François Mitterrand after the fall of the Berlin Wall to convince him of the necessity of German unity.
Müller had a particularly good relationship with SPD Chancellor Willy Brandt; he described him as “my hero.” In addition to the Chancellor pictures, Müller has realized numerous photo projects as a freelance photographer; his pictures are a journey back in time to the 1960s.