Helene Kreszenz Sedlmayr (12 February 1813 – 18 November 1898) was a German beauty of the 19th century, considered the epitome of Munich's beauties. A shoemaker's daughter, she became known to

Ludwig I of Bavaria Ludwig I or Louis I (; 25 August 1786 – 29 February 1868) was King of Bavaria from 1825 until the German revolutions of 1848–49, 1848 revolutions in the German states. When he was crown prince, he was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. As ki ...

when (aged 15) she supplied toys to his children and he commissioned a portrait of her from Stieler for his

Gallery of Beauties The Gallery of Beauties () is a collection of 38 portraits of the most beautiful women from the nobility and bourgeoisie of Munich, Germany, gathered by King Ludwig I of Bavaria in the south pavilion of his Nymphenburg Palace. All but two were p ...

and her portrait is one of the most famous of the 36 portrait paintings of the Beauties. In 1831 she married the king's valet Hermes Miller (1804–1871), with whom she had 10 children.

Life

Sedlmayer was born in

Trostberg Trostberg (; Central Bavarian: ''Droschberg'' or ''Troschtberg'') is a Town#Germany, town in the Traunstein (district), district of Traunstein, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Alz, 19 km northwest of Traunstein. As with other ...

. The shoemaker's daughter came to

Altötting Altötting (, , in contrast to "Neuötting, New Ötting"; , ) is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, capital of the Altötting (district), district Altötting of Germany. For 500 years it has been the scene of religious pilgrimages by Catholics in ...

in 1827 as a 14-year-old servant. A year later she changed her place of work to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. There, she became a runner (maid) in the toy store of the merchant Auracher on Brienner Straße. As such, she also delivered toys for the royal children to the Bavarian court and caught the eye of

King Ludwig I King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by fi ...

because of her beauty. She was portrayed by the court painter

Joseph Karl Stieler Joseph Karl Stieler (1 November 1781 – 9 April 1858) was a German painter. From 1820 until 1855 he worked as royal court painter for the King of Bavaria, Bavarian kings. He is known for his Neoclassicism, Neoclassical portraits, especially for ...

in the Altmünchner Gwand around 1830 for the king's gallery of beauties and was considered the epitome of the beautiful Munich woman. :"... the king even bought clothes for Helene Sedlmayr: '... to whom I gave a beautiful silver bar hood, silver chains for the bodice, a scarf, a dress ...', he noted on December 13, 1830." On April 14, 1834, she married King Ludwig's valet Hermes Miller (1804–1871) in the Frauenkirche in Munich and became the mother of ten children: nine sons and one daughter. King Ludwig had representatives register him twice as a baptismal witness for one of her sons, Ludwig Miller (both died young). Queen Therese of Bavaria was a baptism witness for Therese Miller, Maximilian of Bavaria for Maximilian Miller (later court gardener) and Prince Luitpold of Bavaria for Luitpold Miller (also died young). The marriage was considered happy. Helene died at the age of 85 on November 18, 1898, in Munich.

Descendants

Their descendants, the Miller family, still live in

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps. South of the town, the Be ...

today.

References

External links

Article about Helene Sedlmayr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sedlmayr 1813 births 1898 deaths People from Munich 19th-century German people Burials at the Alter Südfriedhof Gallery of Beauties Maids