Count Gustaf Philip Creutz (; 1 May 1731 in Anjala,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

– 30 October 1785 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

), was a Swedish statesman, diplomat and poet.

Biography

Creutz was born in

and after concluding his studies at the Royal Academy of Turku he received a post in the Privy Council Chancery at

in 1751. Here he met Count Gustaf Fredrik Gyllenborg, with whom his name is indissolubly connected. They were closely allied with Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht, and their works were published in common; to their own generation they seemed equal in fame, but posterity has given the palm of genius to Creutz. His greatest work is contained in the 1762 volume, the idyll of ''Atis och Camilla''; the exquisite little

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

entitled ''Daphne'' was published at the same time, and Gyllenborg was the first to proclaim the supremacy of his friend. In 1763, Creutz practically closed his poetical career; he went to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

as ambassador, and after three years to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in the same capacity until May 1783, and it was during this time that Creutz met with the American resident in Paris at the time,

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

. Creutz and Franklin drafted the first Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the two nations. In 1783, King

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he s ...

recalled him and heaped honours upon him, but he died soon after. In 1784, he was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

. ''Atis och Camilla'' was long the most admired poem in the

Swedish language Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language from the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, spoken predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, making it the G ...

; it is written in a spirit of pastoral which is now to some degree faded, but in comparison with most of the other productions of the time it is freshness itself. Creutz introduced a melody and grace into the Swedish tongue which it lacked before, and he has been styled the last artificer of the language.

References

* This work in turn cites: ** ''Creutz och Gyllenborgs Vitterhetsarbeten'' (Stockholm, 1795)

Biography

See also

References

Further reading