The portrait of Elector Carl Theodor of the Palatinate is on loan from the Electoral Palatinate Museum in Heidelberg. Carl Theodor von Sulzbach (1724 - 1799) took over the government of the Electoral Palatinate in the seat of government Mannheim in 1742 at the age of 18. With the inheritance of the Bavarian electoral dignity, he moved his seat of government to Munich in 1778. His court was splendid, he promoted science, art and music. Under his reign, the Electoral Palatinate experienced a period of cultural prosperity. He founded the Mannheim Academy of Sciences, a sculpture and drawing academy, an antiquities hall, a picture gallery, a library and the Mannheim National Theatre, where Schiller's drama "The Robbers" was first performed. His court orchestra became famous throughout Europe, even attracting Mozart to the city and forming the "Mannheim School" under Karl Stamitz. When Carl Theodor went to Munich, the Palatinate was economically bankrupt because of his many projects, but culturally rich.