Charlotta Arfwedson (5 August 1776 - 8 September 1862) was a Swedish countess and artist. She was politically active and acted as adviser of her second spouse, nobleman

Carl Carlsson Mörner Carl Carlsson Mörner (1 December 1755 in Jönköping – 24 June 1821 in Stockholm) was a Swedish nobleman, officer, and politician. After rising through the ranks after being accepted as a cadet in 1771, he was made field marshal in 181 ...

(1755–1821). She was a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...

(1793).

Biography

Charlotta Arfwedson was the daughter of the merchant Carl Kristoffer Arfwedson and Katarina Charlotta von Langenberg. Her brother, merchant

Carl Abraham Arfwedson Carl Abraham Arfwedson (1774–1861) was a Swedish silk merchant, director and etching artist. Biography Carl Abraham Arfwedson was born to the rich trade merchant Carl Kristoffer Arfwedson (1735–1826) and Charlotta von Langenberg. He was the b ...

(1774-1861), was a personal friend of the Swedish queen,

Désirée Clary Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary (; 8 November 1777 – 17 December 1860) was Queen of Sweden and Norway from 5 February 1818 to 8 March 1844 as the wife of King Charles XIV John. Charles John was a French general and founder of the House o ...

. He had come to know her while he was employed in her father's firm in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and used to speak with her about memories of France. Charlotta Arfwedson first married Colonel Lieutenant Baron Casper Wrede, whom she later divorced. In 1810, she married politician Count Carl Mörner, who served as Governor-general of Norway. She was well known by her contemporaries to act as the political adviser of her spouse. He followed her advice, she wrote and edited his speeches and handled his correspondence with the French-born heir to the throne,

Charles XIV John of Sweden Charles XIV John (; 26 January 1763 – 8 March 1844) was King of Sweden and Norway from 1818 until his death in 1844 and the first monarch of the Bernadotte dynasty. In Norway, he is known as Charles III John () and before he became royalty in ...

, who could not speak Swedish. Mörner could not speak French, while she could speak both languages.Cecilia af Klercker (1942). Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok IX (1812–1817). Stockholm: Norstedt & Söners förlag. p.495

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...

wrote of her influence in her famous journal: "She does influence his decisions to a large degree, and the acknowledgement must be made to her, that she does so excellently skillful and almost without anyone noticing it."

References

Other sources

* Ivar Simonsson
Carl Christopher Arfwedson
Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, Retrieved 2015-02-07 * Cecilia af Klercker (1942). Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok IX (1812–1817). Stockholm: Norstedt & Söners förlag. p. 495 * Eva-Lena Bengtsson, intendent: Konstakademiens ledamöter. Från 1700-talet till 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Arfwedson, Charlotta 1776 births 1862 deaths Swedish painters 18th-century Swedish painters 18th-century Swedish women artists 19th-century Swedish painters 19th-century Swedish artists Swedish women artists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts 18th-century women painters 19th-century Swedish women painters