Lola Montes (1820-1861) in black lace-bordered black silk dress pinned at waist with gold-set cameo brooch, frilled white shirt, gold-set cameo brooch pinned on a long black ribbon necklace, her black hair dressed in ringlets

Born Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert in Ireland she later claimed Spanish descent, adopted the name Lola Montes, and became a dancer. She gained international success, more for her affairs with Franz Liszt and her beauty than for her dancing. Mistress of King Louis I of Bavaria, who named her Countess of Landsfeld, her interest turned to politics. Disapproval of her intervention in Bavarian political affairs led to the Revolution in 1848 and her banishment. Her dancing saw a revival in 1856 with an Australian tour. She died some years later in New York.