Mariana Maximiliana Christiana Carolina Lovisa "Marianne" Ehrenström (; 9 December 1773 – 4 January 1867), was a Swedish writer, singer, painter, pianist, culture personality, memoir writer and
lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...
. She was a member of the
Academy of the Free Arts and an honorary member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Music
The Royal Swedish Academy of Music (), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...
.
She is foremost known for her memoirs, which are regarded as a valuable historical documentation, especially about the contemporary cultural life.
Life
Marianne Ehrenström was born in
Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River.
Name
The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...
, Germany, to the Swedish Commendant of
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...
in
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania (; ) was a dominions of Sweden, dominion under the Sweden, Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish-Swedish War, Polish War and the Thirty Years' War ...
,
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...
Johan Frans Pollett, and the dilettante painter Johanna Helena von Pachelbel-Gehag. She was given a good education, and her first language at home was reportedly French, though she also spoke German, and was later to learn Swedish.
Culture personality
Between 1790 and 1803, she served as ''
hovfröken
A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts.
Tudors and Stuarts
Traditi ...
'' to the queen of Sweden,
Sophia Magdalena of Denmark
Sophia Magdalena of Denmark (; ; 3 July 1746 – 21 August 1813) was Queen of Sweden from 1771 to 1792 as the wife of King Gustav III.
Born into the House of Oldenburg, the royal family of Denmark-Norway, Sophia Magdalena was the first daughter ...
, who reportedly appreciated her. Ehrenström was known as a multi talented artist. She was educated in singing by the singer
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 ...
, in piano playing by the composer
Georg Joseph Vogler
Georg Joseph Vogler, also known as Abbé Vogler (15 June 1749 – 6 May 1814), was a German composer, organist, teacher and theorist. In a long and colorful career extending over many more nations and decades than was usual at the time, Vogler e ...
and in drama by the actor Jacques Marie Boutet de
Monvel.
Being a member of the nobility, she was not professionally active as an artist, but she demonstrated her talent in social life at court and high society and cultural circles, and attracted attention for her abilities.
She was regarded as a gifted singer, an accomplished piano player, and admired for her landscape paintings and miniatures. She became a well regarded member of contemporary Swedish culture life, and was acquainted with a number of the leading cultural figures of the era, notably the dramatist
Carl Gustaf af Leopold, with whom she corresponded and who dedicated poems to her.
Marianne Ehrenström was inducted into the
Academy of the Free Arts in 1800, and became an honorary member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Music
The Royal Swedish Academy of Music (), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...
in 1814.
Later life
In 1803, she left the royal court and married Colonel Nils Fredrik Ehrenström (1756–1816). Reportedly, the marriage was a purely practical affair, as Ehrenström was an old friend of her family and she was forced to think of her future, as her family was not wealthy and she needed to marry to support herself: her spouse, on the other hand, had been appointed commandant of Gothenburg and needed a wife to handle the representational side of his position, as he had recently divorced his first wife Maria Charlotta von Scheven for having eloped with their adoptive son. After the wedding, she left Stockholm for Gothenburg, where she became a celebrated member of Gothenburg high society life. The marriage did not result in issue.
In 1812, her spouse went bankrupt and lost his position, and she separated from him and returned to Stockholm. Between 1815 and 1831, she supported herself by managing a girls' school. After having closed her school in 1831, she mainly lived on some smaller annuities given to her by old acquaintances.
Legacy
In 1826, she published a book about writers, theatre, music, painting and sculpture. Ehrenström is most known for her memoirs in French, which is regarded as a valuable reference work of contemporary Stockholm and Gothenburg in 1792–1812, particularly the contemporary culture life. The unpublished manuscript is now kept at the
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...
.
A selected part of her memoirs were translated and published by
Henrik Schück in 1919 under the title ''Den sista gustavianska hofdamen'' ('The last lady in waiting from the age of Gustav III').
In fiction
Marianne Ehrenström is portrayed in the novel ''Pottungen'' (Chamber pot child) by
Anna Laestadius Larsson from 2014, in which she, alongside
Ulrika Pasch
Ulrika "Ulla" Fredrica Pasch (10 July 1735 – 2 April 1796), was a Swedish rococo painter and miniaturist, and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts.
Biography
Education and early career
Ulrika Pasch was the daughter of the pain ...
,
Anna Maria Lenngren
Anna Maria Lenngren (; 18 June 1754 – 8 March 1817) was one of the most famous poets in Swedish history. Her father and brother were also poets.
One of her best-known poems is ''Några ord till min kära dotter, ifall jag hade någon'' ("Advi ...
,
Ulrika Widström
Ulrika Carolina Widström (24 November 1764, in Stockholm – 19 February 1841), was a Swedish poet and translator. She is remembered for her successful collection ''Erotiska sånger'' (Erotic songs) which was published in 1799. She was awarded a ...
,
Jeanna von Lantingshausen and
Sophie von Fersen
Countess Eva Sophie Piper, née Eva Sophie von Fersen (30 March 1757 – 2 February 1816, Schloss Löfstad, Lövstad Castle), was a Swedish countess and lady in waiting. She was the daughter of count Axel von Fersen the Elder and Hedvig Cathari ...
, becomes a member of a
Blue Stockings Society
The Blue Stockings Society was an informal women's social and educational movement in England in the mid-18th century that emphasised education and mutual cooperation. It was founded in the early 1750s by Elizabeth Montagu, Elizabeth Vesey and ...
organized by
Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp
Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp (; 22 March 1759 – 20 June 1818) was the queen consort of Charles XIII of Sweden and II of Norway. She was also a famed diarist, memoirist and wit. She is known as ''Hedwig Elisabeth Charlo ...
.
Works
* 1826 – ''Notices sur la littérature et les beaux arts en Suède''
* 1830 – ''Notice biographique sur monsieur de Leopold, secrétaire d'état''
See also
*
Margareta Alströmer
*
Christina Charlotta Cederström
*
Märta Helena Reenstierna
References
* Österberg, Carin et al., ''Svenska kvinnor: föregångare, nyskapare'' (Swedish women; Predecessors, pioneers). Lund: Signum 1990. ()
Mariana Maximiliana Christiana Ehrenström
* Mariana (Marianne) Maximiliana Christiana Carolina Lovisa Ehrenström, f. Pollet, urn:sbl:16725, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av H. Schuck. Med bidrag av 8. Walin.), hämtad 2016-10-07.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrenstrom, Marianne
1773 births
1867 deaths
Swedish classical pianists
18th-century Swedish writers
19th-century Swedish non-fiction writers
18th-century Swedish singers
19th-century Swedish singers
18th-century Swedish painters
19th-century Swedish painters
Swedish ladies-in-waiting
Swedish maids of honour
Swedish women memoirists
18th-century Swedish women writers
19th-century Swedish women writers
18th-century Swedish women artists
18th-century keyboardists
Gustavian era people
18th-century Swedish musicians
19th-century Swedish musicians
18th-century Swedish women musicians
Swedish women classical pianists
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts
18th-century women painters
19th-century Swedish women painters