Carl August Ehrensvärd

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Carl August Ehrensvärd (1745–1800)

Count Carl August Ehrensvärd (born May 5, 1745 in Stockholm ; †  May 21, 1800 in Örebro ) was a Swedish draftsman , architect and art theorist . He also held various positions within the Swedish military.

Life

As the son of the architect Augustin Ehrensvärd , who built the Suomenlinna Fortress off Helsinki, Ehrensvärd grew up on this fortress island. In addition to his military training, he learned the arts and crafts from his father and the artist Elias Martin . He then served at his father's side in Pomerania , studied French maritime affairs and then helped his father with the construction of Sveaborg and the construction of the archipelago . At the age of 32 he was already a colonel and seven years later ( 1784 ) he was appointed senior admiral . As such, when the Russian War broke out, he commanded the first naval battle near Svensksund on August 24, 1789 and had already defeated a division of the Russian fleet when the main force of this fleet invaded the Sound. His plan to withdraw was supported by King Gustav III. not approved, so Ehrensvärd resigned the order.

After the death of Gustav III. In 1792 the new government placed him at the head of all maritime affairs with the title of Admiral General . But he resigned from his post as early as 1794 because he wanted to devote himself entirely to studying natural sciences and art. Already the trip to Italy undertaken from 1780 to 1782 had inspired him for antiquity . Ehrensvärd turned out to be a kindred spirit of Johann Joachim Winckelmann , whom he did not know. He had nothing in mind for contemporary art and was in sharp contrast to the prevailing conception of art in Sweden at the time. René Magritte was inspired by his portrait of a lady from 1795 in the National Museum in Stockholm .

Carl August Graf Ehrensvärf died in 1800 on a trip to Örebro.

Publications

  • Resa till Italy . Stockholm (1786)
  • De fria konsters philosophy . Stockholm (1786)

See also

Commons : S  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

  • Carl August Ehrensvärd . In: Herman Hofberg, Frithiof Heurlin, Viktor Millqvist, Olof Rubenson (eds.): Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon . 2nd Edition. tape 1 : A-K . Albert Bonniers Verlag, Stockholm 1906, p. 279 (Swedish, runeberg.org ).
personal data
SURNAME Ehrensvärd, Carl August
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ehrensvärd, Carl August Graf (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish draftsman, architect and art theorist
DATE OF BIRTH May 5, 1745
PLACE OF BIRTH Stockholm
DATE OF DEATH May 21, 1800
Place of death Örebro