Ludwig of Bavaria: Brief Psychological Considerations on the Historical Character and Visconti’s Adaptation

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the concept of creativity and its practical application in relation to the historical figure of Ludwig II of Bavaria. The analysis took into consideration the monarch’s construction of Bavarian castles in terms of both their building and their landscaping. This work demonstrates that the construction of the castles was a product of the monarch’s imagination and creative genius. It also shows that Ludwig’s historical events anticipate the fragilities, weaknesses, obsessions and anxieties of the modern man. In order to make the article complete and exhaustive, it was decided to make a comparison between the historical figure of Ludwig and the artistic and cinematographic interpretation proposed by Visconti in the film of the same title. Our objective is to make some psychological considerations about the historical Ludwig as well as Visconti’s Ludwig.