Lindner often spoke of Ludwig and included his likeness in his autobiographical group portrait, The Meeting, a picture that in its fusion of reality and memory summarizes much of the artist’s life at that time. Here, the handsome king is arrayed in his ceremonial robe, holding his scepter in a regal gesture. Lindner recalled: « For me as an artist, he was fascinating, and he has been so for writers and historians. A plain, insane man, yet he had the vision to create Wagner. After Wagner finished Siegfried, Ludwig had a theater built entirely for himself. There he sat in a loge, dressed as Siegfried, listening to the music… I’m not sure if he had good taste or bad taste, but he had glamorous taste. » Clearly the monarch’s extravagance, the secrets of his Iife, and the enigma of his death, as well as the effect he produced in people’s imagination, fascinated Lindner.

In 1962, Lindner painted a portrait of the Wittelsbach Monarch – Louis ll – in a monumental style. In the lower right of the canvas, he included himself as a student wearing the traditional cap and looking up at the statuesque king. Ludwig’s printed initials are part of a geometric ornamentation that also