The Gallery of Beauties (Schönheitengalerie) is a collection of 36 portraits of the most beautiful women from the nobility and middle classes of Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, painted between 1827 and 1850 (mostly by Joseph Karl Stieler

Joseph Karl Stieler

Joseph Karl Stieler was a German painter. Born in Mainz to a family of engravers and die-cutters, Stieler received some artistic training from his father, August Friedrich Stieler...

, appointed court painter in 1820) and gathered by Ludwig I of Bavaria

Ludwig I of Bavaria

Ludwig I was a German king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.-Crown prince:...

 in the south pavilion of his Nymphenburg Palace

Nymphenburg Palace

The Nymphenburg Palace , i.e. "Nymph's Castle", is a Baroque palace in Munich, Bavaria, southern Germany. The palace was the main summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria.-History:...

 in Munich. Two additional ones were created by Friedrich Dürck. Its best-known works are the portraits of the shoemaker's daughter Helene Sedlmayr

Helene Sedlmayr

Helene Kreszenz Sedlmayr was a German beauty of the 19th century, considered the epitome of Munich's beauties. A shoemaker's daughter, she became known to Ludwig I of Bavaria when she supplied toys to his children and he commissioned a portrait of her from Stieler for his Gallery of Beauties...

, the actress Charlotte von Hagn

Charlotte von Hagn

Charlotte von Hagn was a German actress of the Biedermeier-era.-Early life:Hagn was a daughter of the businessman Karl von Hagn and his wife Josepha Schwab...

 (revered by audiences in Munich, Berlin and Saint Petersburg) and the king's mistresses Lola Montez

Lola Montez

Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld , better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a "Spanish dancer", courtesan and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Countess of Landsfeld. She used her influence to institute liberal...

 and Marianna Marquesa Florenzi

Marianna Marquesa Florenzi

Marianna Marquesa Florenzi , née Marianna Bacinetti, was an Italian noblewoman and translator of philosophical works...

.