Fredrik Cygnaeus
| Fredrik Cygnaeus | |
|---|---|
|
Fredrik Cygnaeus by Erik Johan Löfgren | |
| Born |
1 April 1807 Hämeenlinna, Finland |
| Died |
7 February 1881 (aged 73) Helsinki, Finland |
Fredrik Cygnaeus (1 April 1807 – 7 February 1881) was a Finnish poet, art critic and collector, docent of history and professor of aesthetics and literature.[1]
Cygnaeus was a central person in the Fennoman movement. In Helsinki University he met many important culture people of his time, such as Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Elias Lönnrot, and Johan Vilhelm Snellman.[1]
Cygnaeus was born in wealthy aristocratic family, his grandfather and father were bishops, and his father was invited to St Petersburg as a bishop for the Lutheran parishes. Hence Fredrik Cygnaeus attended schools in St. Petersburg, learned foreign languages and received European influences. In 1823 he returned to Finland and attended university in Turku. He graduated in 1832 and taught in schools in Hamina and Helsinki.[2]
Cygnaeus traveled extensively in Europe 1843–1847 with support of a stipendium. His was planning to find documents of Swedish history in archives in France and Italy. He used the opportunity to network with Europeans, see theatre and read literature. He also wrote poetry and newspaper articles from his travels.[2]
After his return to Finland Cygnaeus acted as a link between university students and administration, to channel raising nationalism to peaceful expressions and avoid revolutions. [2] The tradition of Flora day celebrations of students on May 13th was founded by him.[1] When students became more radical, they did not accept Cygnaeus as their curator an more, but the administration awarded him with a professorship in modern literature in 1854.[2]
Cygnaeus considered himself most of all as a historian and a poet. For the later world, his contribution as supporter of arts and artists has been more significant. He supported Aleksis Kivi and Zacharias Topelius, and gathered a remarkable collection of art and curiosities, which he then donated "to people of Finland".[2] The collection was presented in his villa in the southern part of Helsinki, called the Cygnaeus Gallery. The gallery contains ca. 200 works, mainly Finnish art from the 19th century.[3]
Cygnaeus was the first one who wrote analysis of central works of Johan Ludvig Runeberg. Before him, there had been almost no research of contemporary Finnish literature.[4]
References
- 1 2 3 Sjöblom, Tomas. "Fredrik Cygnaeus". 375 Humanists. Helsinki University. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Klinge, Matti. "Fredrik Cygnaeus". National Biography of Finland (in Finnish). SKS. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- ↑ http://www.uppslagsverket.fi/sv/sok/view-103684-CygnaeiGalleri
- ↑ http://www.hs.fi/arviot/kirja/a1353063041250