The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Louis II

Louis II

1962
(American, 1901–1978)
America, 20th century
oil on canvas
Unframed: 127 x 101.6 cm (50 x 40 in.)
Contemporary Collection of The Cleveland Museum of Art 1965.450
© Artists Right Society (ARS), New York
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Lindner appears in the second row of the Beatles’ St. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) album cover.

Description

Richard Lindner’s often colorful figures in hard-edge style build a bridge between the classic modern European art and aspects of American popular culture. With the historical figure of Louis II, Lindner refers to a memory of his childhood in Germany that is the subject in several of his later paintings. Ludwig II of Bavaria (sometimes rendered as Louis II in English) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until shortly before his death. He is sometimes called the Swan King (or Märchenkönig in German) and is considered to have been mentally ill, though the medical diagnosis remains controversial. Adding to the controversy are his eccentric character and the mysterious circumstances under which he died. In Lindner’s painting Ludwig II appears as an enigmatic, yet powerful figure whose legacy is strongly connected with the history of art.
  • (Arne K. Ekstrom, New York).
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 203 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 203 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Art of the Twentieth Century in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Dept. of Art History & Education, CMA, 1969. Mentioned: p. 4 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 255 archive.org
    Zilczer, Judith, and Peter Selz. Richard Lindner: Paintings and Watercolors, 1948-1977. Washington, DC: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 1996. Reproduced: p. 73
  • Richard Lindner: Paintings and Watercolors, 1948-1977. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (October 17, 1996-January 12, 1997).
    Portraiture: The Image of the Individual. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 22, 1983-January 22, 1984).
    Richard Lindner. Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Chicago, IL (organizer) (May 7-July 10, 1977).
    Richard Lindner. Morsbroich Museum, Leverkusen, Germany (organizer) (October 11-November 24, 1968); Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hannover, Germany, Hannover, Germany (December 6, 1968-January 19, 1969); Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany (January 24-March 9, 1969); Berkeley Museum of Art/Pacific Film Archive, CA, Berkeley, CA (June 17-July 27, 1969).
    Fifty Years of Modern Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 15-July 31, 1966).
  • {{cite web|title=Louis II|url=false|author=Richard Lindner|year=1962|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1965.450