Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom
Who was Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom?
Swedish poet (1790–1855)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom was born on January 19, 1790, in Åsbo, Östergötland, Sweden. He became a leading figure in Swedish Romanticism, working as a poet, aesthetician, philosopher, and university teacher. He studied at Uppsala University and spent much of his career there, eventually gaining significant academic influence. He married Ebba af Ekenstam, and both his personal and professional life were closely tied to the cultural and academic communities in Uppsala. He passed away on July 21, 1855, at the Uppsala Cathedral Assembly, leaving a large collection of literary and philosophical works.
Before Fame
Atterbom grew up in the late eighteenth century, a time of major intellectual activity across Europe. German Romantic philosophy, especially the ideas from Schelling and the Jena circle, influenced Swedish thinkers while he was studying at Uppsala University. As a young student and writer, Atterbom played a key role in organizing the Phosphorist movement, a group of Swedish Romantics who started publishing the journal Phosphoros in 1810. Through this publication, he promoted a new artistic vision that challenged the dominant neoclassical style and aimed to raise poetry as a means of expressing spiritual and philosophical truths.
Key Achievements
- Founded and edited the journal Phosphoros, which became the central organ of Swedish Romantic literary thought
- Authored the monumental dramatic poem Lycksalighetens ö (The Isle of Bliss), a landmark of Swedish Romantic poetry
- Appointed professor of aesthetics and theoretical philosophy at Uppsala University
- Elected member of the Swedish Academy
- Wrote Svenska siare och skalder, a significant survey of Swedish poets and seers that shaped the understanding of national literary history
Did You Know?
- 01.Atterbom founded and edited the literary journal Phosphoros, which gave its name to the broader Phosphorist movement in Swedish Romantic literature.
- 02.His most celebrated dramatic poem, Lycksalighetens ö (The Isle of Bliss), took decades to complete and is considered one of the most ambitious works in Swedish Romantic literature.
- 03.He was elected a member of the Swedish Academy, Sweden's most prestigious literary institution, reflecting the high regard in which his peers held his contributions to Swedish letters.
- 04.Atterbom made an extended journey through Germany and Italy in the early 1820s, where he met leading figures of European Romanticism and recorded his observations in detailed travel writings.
- 05.He held the chair of theoretical philosophy at Uppsala University and later became a professor of aesthetics, making him one of the first systematic teachers of that discipline in Sweden.