Wilhelmine Sulzer

Friederica Catharina Sulzer better known for her stage name as Wilhelmine Sulzer (Munich, 1820 - ?) was a Munich royal court actress. She appeared in the Gallery of Beauties gathered by Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1838.

Life
Friederica was born in Munich in 1820. She was the illegitimate child of the accountant Johannes Sulzer and the worker's daughter Zoepf. She was orphaned at the age of 16. In 1837 she was employed at the royal court stage. A breast problem forced her to give up acting after just a few months. In 1838 she married the ministerial registrar Karl Schneider. Her date of death is unknown.

Portrait
She was hired as a student of Heigel at the Royal Court Theater in 1837, where she attracted the attention of King Ludwig I of Bavaria who called her a "decent and virtuous girl.". The king then commissioned the court painter Joseph Karl Stieler to paint the 17 years old actress for his Gallery of Beauties collection in Nymphenburg Palace, Munich.

In her portrait, Wilhelmine Sulze looses her auburn hair, wears a white plain off shoulder gown and wrapped with a luxurious fur.