The sitter was the second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria (see lot 131) and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. He became the first modern King of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London and reigned until his deposition in 1862. In 1836, he married Amalia of Oldenburg (1818-1875). Their marriage was childless.
A bust-length variant is illustrated in G. Biermann and Brinckmann, Die Miniaturen-Sammlung Seiner Königlichen Hoheit des Grossherzogs Ernst Ludwig von Hessen und bei Rhein, Leipzig, 1917, pl. 144, no. 450.