Hedvig Sophie Karsten (3 September 1783 – 25 February 1862) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

ballerina and artist (painter). Born to opera singers

Christoffer Christian Karsten Christoffer Christian (or ''Kristofer Kristian'') Karsten (9 September 1756 – 6 August 1827) was a Swedish opera singer. He was the maternal grandfather of the ballerina Marie Taglioni. Life Born in Ystad, he was discovered by queen ...

and

Sophie Stebnowska Mariane Theresia ''Sophie'' (Maria Sofia) Stebnowska also called Zofia Stępkowska or ''Stempkosta'' (13 July 1753 or 1761 – 16 February 1848) was a Swedish opera singer and harpist of Polish origin. She has been referred to as one of the ...

, she was the sister of painter

Elisabeth Charlotta Karsten Elisabeth Charlotta Karsten, married surname ''Kachanoff'' (1789–1856), was a Swedish painter. She was born in Stockholm, the daughter of Kristofer Kristian Karsten and Sophie Stebnowska and sister of Sophie Karsten. She was the student of ...

. Sophie Karsten became a dancer at the

Royal Swedish Ballet The Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian dominance in this fi ...

in the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern side ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. In 1805, she was appointed premier dancer. She was also active as a painter, and participated in the exhibitions of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts ( sv, Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architec ...

between 1802 and 1804. Her most noted painting was a mountain landscape.Dahlberg och Hagström: Svenskt konstlexikon. Allhems Förlag (1953) Malmö. (in Swedish) She married

Filippo Taglioni Filippo Taglioni (aka Philippe Taglioni; 5 November 1777 – 11 February 1871) was an Italian dancer and choreographer and personal teacher to his own daughter, Romantic ballerina Marie Taglioni. (He had another child who also danced ballet, ...

in 1803, and became the mother of the ballerina

Marie Taglioni Marie Taglioni, Comtesse de Voisins (23 April 1804 – 22 April 1884) was a Swedish-born ballet dancer of the Romantic ballet era partially of Italian descent, a central figure in the history of European dance. She spent most of her life in th ...

References

* Dahlberg och Hagström, Svenskt konstlexikon. Allhems Förlag (1953) Malmö. (in Swedish) * Osmo Durchman, Finska anor inom furstehus (in Swedish)

(in Swedish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Karsten, Sophie Swedish ballerinas 19th-century Swedish painters 19th-century Swedish ballet dancers 1783 births 1862 deaths Royal Swedish Ballet dancers Swedish people of Polish descent Swedish women painters