Winterhalter was born in the Black Forest where he was encouraged to draw at school. In 1818 he went to Freiburg to study under Karl Ludwig Schüler and then moved to Munich in 1823, where he attended the Academy and studied under Josef Stieler, a fashionable portrait painter. Winterhalter was first brought to the attention of Queen Victoria by the Queen of the Belgians and subsequently painted numerous portraits at the English court from 1842 till his death.

This portrait was painted at the same time as the one of his older brother, King Pedro V (RCIN 402018), whom he succeeded in 1861. Duke Louis is in naval uniform with the ribbon and star of the united Orders of St James and St Benedict of Aviz. Queen Victoria thought he was 'a good, kind, amiable boy whom one must like'. He carried on his father's work in modernising his country and strengthening the system of constitutional monarchy. He was also an enthusiastic supporter of literature and his reign saw a remarkable literary revival.