Carlotta von Breidbach-Bürresheim in a painting for the Gallery of Beauties, painted by Friedrich Dürck, 1863

Countess Carlotta von Boos-Waldeck born as Baroness Carlotta von Breidbach-Bürresheim (5 June 1838, Biebrich - 4 March 1920, Opatija) was a German lady-in-waiting for Grand Duchess Mathilde of Hesse-Darmstadt. She appeared in the Gallery of Beauties gathered by Ludwig I of Bavaria^[1] in 1863. Her portrait was the last of the collection for the Gallery.

Life

She was born in Biebrich on June 5, 1838, as the daughter of Baron Philipp Jacob von Breidbach-Bürresheim and his wife Caroline, née Baroness von Greifenklau.^[2]

In 1858, as a lady-in-waiting for Grand Duchess Mathilde of Hesse-Darmstadt, Carlotta visited the court of Maximillian II in Munich, where she met Ludwig I, who had been widowed since 1854. He fell in love with the lady-in-waiting, whose portrait he had hung in the Gallery of Beauties and whose affection he tried to win with no fewer than 250 poems; However, she rejected a marriage proposal from the Bavarian ruler, who was 50 years her senior.^[3]

In 1863 she married Count Philipp Boos von Waldeck, with whom she lived in Bohemia and on an estate near Salzburg; the couple had six children.^[4]

She died in Opatija in 1920.^[5]

Portrait

In 1863, Ludwig I commissioned Joseph Stieler's nephew and student Friedrich Dürck (1809–1884) to paint her for the collection.^[6]

Baroness Carlotta wears a dress with neckline made straight by a modesty piece in the portrait.^[7]

References