Portret van Lodewijk I van Beieren

About this artwork

blad: hoogte 243 mm (plaatrand onduidelijk) x breedte 152 mm (plaatrand onduidelijk)

Art Historical Context

This steel engraving by Karl Barth depicts King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who reigned from 1825 to 1848. Created sometime between 1828 and 1853, the modest-sized print (243 × 152 mm) presents the monarch in a formal, composed manner typical of royal portraiture of the era. Ludwig was renowned as a passionate patron of the arts who transformed Munich into a leading center of neoclassical culture, commissioning grand architecture and supporting numerous artists and scholars. Steel engraving, the medium used here, offered significant advantages in the nineteenth century by allowing engravers to achieve exceptionally fine detail and produce far more impressions than traditional copper plates. Such prints played an important role in disseminating official images of European royalty to a broader audience, functioning both as symbols of authority and as affordable collectibles for the emerging middle class. Though little is documented about Karl Barth himself, his choice of subject reflects the widespread European interest in Bavaria’s cultural revival under Ludwig’s reign. The work stands as a quiet testament to the intersection of monarchy, artistic patronage, and advancing print technology during a transformative period in German history.

About the Artist

Karl Barth · 1787–1853

Karl Barth (also known as Carl Barth or Johann Carl Barth, 1787–1853) was a versatile German artist who worked as a copperplate engraver, draughtsman, painter, illustrator, and portrait engraver during the late eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries. Born in Eisfeld in the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen and dying in Kassel, Barth exemplified the multi-talented artist-craftsman of the Roman...