At the point at which this portrait was painted, the sitter, Ludwig Karl August von Pfalz-Birkenfeld-Zweibrücken, was still the crown prince of Bavaria. Throughout his reign as both crown prince and king of Bavaria, he saw many changes and developments. Possibly one of the most significant of these to the modern mind would be the introduction of a yearly Oktoberfest. When Ludwig married Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen in 1810, the celebrations turned into what would go on to become a long lasting tradition in Germany and elsewhere in the world. It was also Ludwig who had allowed breweries to serve beer directly, prompting the opening of the beer halls and gardens of Munich. It would be in these same places that the revolution of 1848, which ousted Ludwig from his position as King, would begin.

Since his first visit to Italy in 1804, the Crown Prince had been infatuated with the ideas of the Italian and Greek renaissance, and was a great patron of the arts. When he became King of Bavaria in 1825, he commissioned many great buildings which are still of cultural significance today. Out of these, the New and Old Pinakothek in Munich stand out. He also opened the Glyptotek, the first public museum in Europe. This passion for the arts make it unsurprising that he had portraits, such as the present example, commissioned.

The prince has a particularly youthful look in this depiction, despite his father having declared war against Napoleon, with his support, just two years earlier. What cannot be seen within the portrait is the birthmark that Ludwig supposedly had on his face, which has been covered up in all portraits he had painted.

Caspar Gerhard Klotz is known to have painted miniatures of other members of european nobility and royalty, including a portrait of Princess Elizabeth, held in the Royal Collection. Elizabeth was also related to German nobility, through her mother. At this point in time, Klotz had returned to living in Germany, in Frankfurt. He would remain in Germany until his death in 1847, in Munich.