Here’s a random Saturday post for y’all with King Ludwig’s Gallery of Beauties (or Schönheitengalerie for those from Deutschland). In the south pavilion of Nymphenburg Palace is a collection of 36 portraits of the most beautiful women from the nobility and middle classes of Munich painted between 1827 and 1850. If you are wondering why this gallery exists, well, let me explain. Ludwig I of Bavaria was an enthusiastic supporter of both women and the arts. He spent most of his time collecting Greek and Roman statuary, designing neo-classical buildings around Bavaria like the Ruhmeshalle and conducting extramarital affairs. This is the sort of thing bored, wealthy kings did and actually still do. And what a surprise, a few of Ludwig’s mistresses, Lola Montez and Marianna Marquesa Florenzi, are part of the “beauties” gallery. Other portraits include the shoemaker’s daughter Helene Sedlmayr, who later married the king’s valet, as well as the actress Charlotte von Hagn. Anyway, this wasn’t the first time a gallery of beauties was created. One has to go back to the 1660s for the Windsor Beauties, a dozen portraits painted by Sir Peter Lely, first housed in the Queen’s bedchamber in Windsor Castle. They are now on display at Hampton Court, which is also home to its own set of “beauties”, painted by Lely’s successor, Sir Godfrey Kneller. Now someone aka Kris Jenner needs to create a Gallery of Kardashian Beauties for King Kanye West and we can call it a day.
King Ludwig’s Gallery of Beauties
