Elisabeth "Elisa" Charlotte Constanzia von der Recke (née von Medem; 20 May 1754 – 13 April 1833) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

writer and poet.

Family

Elisa von der Recke was born in Schönberg, Skaistkalne parish, Courland (present-day Skaistkalne, Vecumnieki Municipality, Latvia), the daughter of

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

(later Reichsgraf) Johann Friedrich von

Medem The Medem is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe, into which it flows near Otterndorf. See also *List of rivers of Lower Saxony All rivers in the German state of Lower Saxony flow directly or indirectly into t ...

(1722-1785) and his wife, Luise Dorothea von Korff (1736-1757). Her younger half-sister was

Dorothea von Medem Countess Anna Charlotte Dorothea von Medem (3 February 1761 – 20 August 1821) was born a Gräfin (Countess) of the noble German Baltic Medem family and later became Duchess of Courland. Popularly known as Dorothea of Courland after her marri ...

, for whom she carried out diplomatic work. In 1771 she married Kammerherr Georg Peter Magnus von der

Recke Recke is a municipality in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Recke is situated approximately 20 km north-east of Rheine and 25 km north-west of Osnabrück. Neighbouring municipalities * Ibbenb ...

(1739-1795), living with him at Neuenburg Castle (now Jaunpils Castle). She separated from him in 1776 and divorced in 1781. Their daughter, Frederika von der Recke, died in 1777.

Life

In 1787 her first book, ''Nachricht von des berüchtigten Cagliostro Aufenthalt in Mitau im Jahre 1779 und dessen magischen Operationen'', a memoir-exposé of the months when she studied magic with "Count" Alessandro di Cagliostro, made a great impact right across Europe, with Catherine the Great even granting Elisa lands in Russia in recognition of the work (making Elisa financially independent). She got to know

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

, Schiller, Wieland, Herder and other European literary figures, and intensified their relationships through prolific correspondence. From 1798 she lived almost exclusively in Dresden, and from 1804 cohabited there with her friend

Christoph August Tiedge Christoph August Tiedge (14 December 1752, Gardelegen - 8 March 1841, Dresden) was a German poet. Biography Tiedge was the eldest son of the rector of the Gelehrten Stadtschule in Gardelegen and his wife, and studied law in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt ...

. Their meetings were religio- sentimentalist in tone, with the singing of

chorale Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one of the th ...

s by

Johann Gottlieb Naumann Johann Gottlieb Naumann (17 April 1741 – 23 October 1801) was a German composer, conductor, and Kapellmeister. Life Johann Gottlieb Naumann was born in Blasewitz and received his musical training from the teachers at his town school, where he ...

. Her works consisted mainly of

pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...

-sentimentalist poems, journals and memoirs. Elisa von der Recke looked after thirteen foster daughters. She died in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

and is buried at the in Dresden.

Works

* ''Nachricht von des berüchtigten Cagliostro Aufenthalt in Mitau im Jahre 1779 und dessen magischen Operationen'', 1787 * Johann Lorenz Blessig (Hrsg.): ''Leben des Grafen Johann Friedrich von Medem nebst seinem Briefwechsel hauptsächlich mit der Frau Kammerherrinn von der Recke, seiner Schwester'', 1792
Digitalisat
* ''Familien=Scenen oder Entwickelungen auf dem Masquenballe'', ca. 1794, published in 1826
Digitalisat
* ''Über Naumann, den guten Menschen und großen Künstler'', article in ''Neuen Deutschen Merkur'', 1803

Posthumously published

*''Geistliche Lieder, Gebete und religiöse Betrachtungen'', Teubner, Leipzig 1841 *''Elisa von der Recke. Band 1. Aufzeichnungen und Briefe aus ihren Jugendtagen'', hrsg. von Paul Rachel, 2. Auflage 1902 *''Elisa von der Recke. Band 2. Tagebücher und Briefe aus ihren Wanderjahren'', hrsg. von Paul Rachel, 1902 *''Herzensgeschichten einer baltischen Edelfrau. Erinnerungen und Briefe'', Lutz, Stuttgart 1921 *''Tagebücher und Selbstzeugnisse'', hrsg. v. Christine Träger, Köhler und Amelang, Leipzig / Beck, München 1984,

Gallery

File:Tischbein - Elisa von der Recke.jpg , by Tischbein, 1775 File:1784 Darbes Elisa von der Recke anagoria.JPG , by , 1784 File:ReckeECK.jpg , by Ernst Gottlob, 1785 File:Elisa von der Recke by Anton Graff 1790.jpg, by

Anton Graff Anton Graff (18 November 1736 – 22 June 1813) was an eminent Swiss portrait artist. Among his famous subjects were Friedrich Schiller, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Heinrich von Kleist, Frederick the Great, Friederike Sophie Seyler, Johann Go ...

, 1790 Gerhard von Kügelgen Elisa von der Recke 1.jpg , by

Gerhard von Kügelgen Franz Gerhard von Kügelgen (6 February 1772 – 27 March 1820) was a German painter, noted for his portraits and history paintings. He was a professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and a member of both the Prussian and Russian Imperial Ac ...

, 1812

Notes

References

* Michelle S. James and Rob McFarland: "Collaborating with Spirits: Cagliostro, Elisa von der Recke, and the Phantoms of ''Unmündigkeit''" in Laura Deiulio and John Lyon (Eds.) ''Gender, Collaboration, and Authorship in German Culture: Literary Joint Ventures 1750-1850,'' New York: Bloomsbury, 2019. 101-138.

External links

*
Nachweis von digitalisierten Zeitschriftenbeiträgen
at Litlinks * Article o
Stadtwiki Dresden
about Elisa von der Recke
The Sophie Project
Elisa von der Recke {{DEFAULTSORT:Recke 1754 births 1833 deaths People from Bauska Municipality People from the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Baltic-German people German women poets Baltic nobility 18th-century Latvian people 19th-century Latvian people European salon-holders