Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
Encyclopedia
Count
Nicodemus Tessin the Younger (May 23, 1654 – April 10, 1728) was a Swedish
Baroque
architect
, city planner, and administrator.
The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder
and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin
, Tessin the Younger was the middle-most generation of the brief Tessin dynasty, which have had a lasting influence on Swedish architecture and history.
, son of the mayor of Stralsund
, and Maria Svan, daughter of the mayor of Västerås
. He showed artistic talents at an early age and was given an education in Mathematics and language at Uppsala
, where he must have been influenced by Olaus Rudbeck
who was at the time highly engaged in the scientific basis of architecture and botany.
In 1673, 19 years old, he accompanied Marchese del Monte, the Emissary of Queen Christina
, to Italy and Rome, where the royal protection ensured he would get the best teachers available; leading architects of the era such as Carlo Fontana
and Gian Lorenzo Bernini
. These architects, together with the compulsory study of classical monuments, made a lasting impression on Tessin. Upon his return to Sweden after four years, the Swedish king immediately sent him on a second trip which would last 1677-78 and take him to England and France were prominent architects such as André Le Nôtre
and Jean Bérain
had a deep impact on Tessin's later decorations and gardens. Together with his stepbrother Abraham Winands, Tessin actively took part in his father's work, and when Tessin inherited his father's position, he asked to share it with Winands and the two would keep working side by side until the death of Winands in 1709.
When Tessin the Elder came to Stockholm, Sweden was still a major European power and Swedish nobility
had the funds required to carry through prestigious architectural projects, a situation which changed dramatically with the Reduction
through which the nobility lost their financial power and found themselves sidestepped by highly educated public officials who were gradually raised to nobility. As parts of this latter group, Tessin the Elder was raised to lesser nobility in 1674 and Tessin the Younger became count in 1714. However, the Reduction also meant considerably fewer assignments from the nobility, and when Tessin the Younger succeeded his father in 1681, his main clients was the church and the royal court, with the many ambitious palaces and gardens of Queen Hedvig Elenora
as the most important projects.
In the end of the 1680s, King Charles XI
commissioned Tessin to modernise the northern part of the Stockholm Palace
, why the architect had the opportunity to do a second study tour, including the Netherlands, France, and Italy. This time, however, he was met with great respect all over the continent, and he later proudly retold the event when King Louis XIV of France
had the fountains at the Versailles Palace play upon his visit, a tribute normally only granted foreign princes. During this trip Tessin met Daniel Cronström
who became one of his invaluable colleagues and an important contact on the continent as Tessin's projects in Sweden required him to negotiate with manufacturers and artists abroad. Their correspondence has also proven invaluable for later historical research. Upon his return he immediately begun his work on the royal palace, and in 1695 his large-scale northern Baroque façade was completed, apparently inspired by Bernini's project at the Louvre
. Ambitions to further renew the palace first came to a halt as the king died, and were then given a completely new perspective as the palace was destroyed by fire in 1697. Tessin was appointed to produce plans for a new palace the day after the fire and he quickly produced a proposal which pleased both the young King Charles XII
and his regency. However, as Charles XII left Sweden for his lengthy campaigns on the continent in 1700, works on the palace first progressed slowly and following the devastating Battle of Poltava
in 1709 came to a new halt. Even though Tessin spent much of his remaining life producing detailed plans for the palace, it remained incomplete by the time for his death.
In 1690, Tessin married his mistress Hedvig Eleonora
Stenbock
(1658–1714), maid of honour of Queen Hedvig Elenora. However, at this time Tessin still belonged to the lesser nobility
and his marriage to a woman from the high nobility was regarded as inappropriate. The marriage therefore had to take place secretly in Pomerania
and, to repair the situation, Tessin had to produce a residence in accordance to his wife's status. Works on the Tessin Palace
begun in 1694 and initially progressed slowly, but in 1697 Tessin and his family could move in and in 1701, two years after Tessin had been promoted to high nobility, the interior was completed to the extent Tessin could invite the widowed queen and the royal family to a supper. Besides his own palace, the gardens of the Drottningholm Palace
and Steninge Palace, both located not far from Stockholm, are often pointed out as his greatest achievements.
Most of Tessin's projects as an architect were produced during the 17th century, including several churches such the King Charles' Church in Kungsör
and the Holy Trinity Church in Karlskrona
, and many of his proposals never were built. During his later life, he played an important roll as an administrator and he also produced ambitious city plans for Stockholm in connection to his work for the royal palace.
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
Nicodemus Tessin the Younger (May 23, 1654 – April 10, 1728) was a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, city planner, and administrator.
The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder
Nicodemus Tessin the Elder
Nicodemus Tessin the Elder was an important Swedish architect.-Biography:Nicodemus Tessin was born in Stralsund in Pomerania and came to Sweden as a young man. There he met and worked with the architect Simon de la Vallée...
and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin
Carl Gustaf Tessin
Count Carl Gustaf Tessin was a Swedish politician and son of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock.-Life:Carl Gustaf Tessin was born in Stockholm...
, Tessin the Younger was the middle-most generation of the brief Tessin dynasty, which have had a lasting influence on Swedish architecture and history.
Early life
Tessin was born on May 23, 1654, as the only child of Nicodemus Tessin the ElderNicodemus Tessin the Elder
Nicodemus Tessin the Elder was an important Swedish architect.-Biography:Nicodemus Tessin was born in Stralsund in Pomerania and came to Sweden as a young man. There he met and worked with the architect Simon de la Vallée...
, son of the mayor of Stralsund
Stralsund
- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...
, and Maria Svan, daughter of the mayor of Västerås
Västerås
Västerås is a city in central Sweden, located on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province Västmanland, some 100 km west of Stockholm...
. He showed artistic talents at an early age and was given an education in Mathematics and language at Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
, where he must have been influenced by Olaus Rudbeck
Olaus Rudbeck
Olaus Rudbeck was a Swedish scientist and writer, professor of medicine at Uppsala University and for several periods rector magnificus of the same university...
who was at the time highly engaged in the scientific basis of architecture and botany.
In 1673, 19 years old, he accompanied Marchese del Monte, the Emissary of Queen Christina
Christina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
, to Italy and Rome, where the royal protection ensured he would get the best teachers available; leading architects of the era such as Carlo Fontana
Carlo Fontana
Carlo Fontana was an Italian architect, who was in part responsible for the classicizing direction taken by Late Baroque Roman architecture.-Biography:...
and Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
. These architects, together with the compulsory study of classical monuments, made a lasting impression on Tessin. Upon his return to Sweden after four years, the Swedish king immediately sent him on a second trip which would last 1677-78 and take him to England and France were prominent architects such as André Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France...
and Jean Bérain
Jean Bérain
Jean Bérain may refer to:* Jean Bérain the Elder * Jean Bérain the Younger...
had a deep impact on Tessin's later decorations and gardens. Together with his stepbrother Abraham Winands, Tessin actively took part in his father's work, and when Tessin inherited his father's position, he asked to share it with Winands and the two would keep working side by side until the death of Winands in 1709.
Work as an architect
Swedish nobility
The Swedish nobility were historically a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, part of the so-called frälse . Today, the nobility is still very much a part of Swedish society but they do not maintain many of their former privileges...
had the funds required to carry through prestigious architectural projects, a situation which changed dramatically with the Reduction
Reduction (Sweden)
In the reductions in Sweden, fiefs that had been granted to the Swedish nobility were returned to the Crown.The first reduction under Charles X Gustav of Sweden in 1655 restored a quarter of "donations" made after 1632. In the Great Reduction of 1680 under Charles XI of Sweden the Crown...
through which the nobility lost their financial power and found themselves sidestepped by highly educated public officials who were gradually raised to nobility. As parts of this latter group, Tessin the Elder was raised to lesser nobility in 1674 and Tessin the Younger became count in 1714. However, the Reduction also meant considerably fewer assignments from the nobility, and when Tessin the Younger succeeded his father in 1681, his main clients was the church and the royal court, with the many ambitious palaces and gardens of Queen Hedvig Elenora
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp was the queen consort of King Charles X of Sweden and queen mother of King Charles XI...
as the most important projects.
In the end of the 1680s, King Charles XI
Charles XI of Sweden
Charles XI also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period in Swedish history known as the Swedish empire ....
commissioned Tessin to modernise the northern part of the Stockholm Palace
Stockholm Palace
The Stockholm Palace is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. . Stockholm Palace is located on Stadsholmen , in Gamla Stan in the capital, Stockholm...
, why the architect had the opportunity to do a second study tour, including the Netherlands, France, and Italy. This time, however, he was met with great respect all over the continent, and he later proudly retold the event when King Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
had the fountains at the Versailles Palace play upon his visit, a tribute normally only granted foreign princes. During this trip Tessin met Daniel Cronström
Daniel Cronström
Daniel Cronström was a Swedish architect working in the Late Baroque style influenced by the French style of Louis XIV..He was sent to Paris in the 1690s as a kind of cultural ambassador whose duty it was to seek out, record in drawings and buy as much as he possibly could of first-rate material...
who became one of his invaluable colleagues and an important contact on the continent as Tessin's projects in Sweden required him to negotiate with manufacturers and artists abroad. Their correspondence has also proven invaluable for later historical research. Upon his return he immediately begun his work on the royal palace, and in 1695 his large-scale northern Baroque façade was completed, apparently inspired by Bernini's project at the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
. Ambitions to further renew the palace first came to a halt as the king died, and were then given a completely new perspective as the palace was destroyed by fire in 1697. Tessin was appointed to produce plans for a new palace the day after the fire and he quickly produced a proposal which pleased both the young King Charles XII
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
and his regency. However, as Charles XII left Sweden for his lengthy campaigns on the continent in 1700, works on the palace first progressed slowly and following the devastating Battle of Poltava
Battle of Poltava
The Battle of Poltava on 27 June 1709 was the decisive victory of Peter I of Russia over the Swedish forces under Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld in one of the battles of the Great Northern War. It is widely believed to have been the beginning of Sweden's decline as a Great Power; the...
in 1709 came to a new halt. Even though Tessin spent much of his remaining life producing detailed plans for the palace, it remained incomplete by the time for his death.
Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock
Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock was a Swedish noble and lady-in-waiting.Daughter of Count Erik Stenbock and related to queen Katarina Stenbock; sister of the political salonist Magdalena Stenbock. She was described as beautiful and well educated and could speak French, German and Italian...
Stenbock
Stenbock (family)
The Stenbock family is one of the families of the Swedish and Baltic German nobility.Members include:*Ebba Stenbock *Katarina Stenbock *Gustaf Otto Stenbock *Magnus Stenbock *Eric Stenbock...
(1658–1714), maid of honour of Queen Hedvig Elenora. However, at this time Tessin still belonged to the lesser nobility
Swedish nobility
The Swedish nobility were historically a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, part of the so-called frälse . Today, the nobility is still very much a part of Swedish society but they do not maintain many of their former privileges...
and his marriage to a woman from the high nobility was regarded as inappropriate. The marriage therefore had to take place secretly in Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
and, to repair the situation, Tessin had to produce a residence in accordance to his wife's status. Works on the Tessin Palace
Tessin Palace
The Tessin Palace is a baroque town house located in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm. Located next to the Royal Palace, it is facing Slottsbacken, the major approach to the Stockholm Palace, and flanked by two alleys, Finska Kyrkogränd and Bollhusgränd.The mansion was constructed...
begun in 1694 and initially progressed slowly, but in 1697 Tessin and his family could move in and in 1701, two years after Tessin had been promoted to high nobility, the interior was completed to the extent Tessin could invite the widowed queen and the royal family to a supper. Besides his own palace, the gardens of the Drottningholm Palace
Drottningholm Palace
The Drottningholm Palace is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. It is located in Drottningholm. It is built on the island Lovön , and is one of Sweden's Royal Palaces. It was originally built in the late 16th century. It served as a residence of the Swedish royal court for most of...
and Steninge Palace, both located not far from Stockholm, are often pointed out as his greatest achievements.
Later life
Kungsör
Kungsör is a locality and the seat of Kungsör Municipality in Västmanland County, Sweden with 5,610 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...
and the Holy Trinity Church in Karlskrona
Karlskrona
Karlskrona is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with 35,212 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Sweden's only remaining naval base and the headquarters of the...
, and many of his proposals never were built. During his later life, he played an important roll as an administrator and he also produced ambitious city plans for Stockholm in connection to his work for the royal palace.
Progeny
- Tessin the Younger was the father of Carl Gustaf TessinCarl Gustaf TessinCount Carl Gustaf Tessin was a Swedish politician and son of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock.-Life:Carl Gustaf Tessin was born in Stockholm...
, one of the most influential Swedish politicians of his time. - Carl Erik Tessin
- Hedvig Tessin von Schwerin
- Ulrika Maria Tessin Sparre, she was the mother of Fredrik Sparre, who was Lord High Chancellor of SwedenLord High Chancellor of SwedenThe Lord High Chancellor was a prominent and influential office in Sweden, from 1561 until 1680, excluding periods when the office was out of use. The office holder was a member of the Privy Council of Sweden...
in the 1790s.
Selected works
- Stockholm PalaceStockholm PalaceThe Stockholm Palace is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. . Stockholm Palace is located on Stadsholmen , in Gamla Stan in the capital, Stockholm...
- Tessin PalaceTessin PalaceThe Tessin Palace is a baroque town house located in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm. Located next to the Royal Palace, it is facing Slottsbacken, the major approach to the Stockholm Palace, and flanked by two alleys, Finska Kyrkogränd and Bollhusgränd.The mansion was constructed...
, (1694–1700) - Steninge Palace
- Completion of the Drottningholm PalaceDrottningholm PalaceThe Drottningholm Palace is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. It is located in Drottningholm. It is built on the island Lovön , and is one of Sweden's Royal Palaces. It was originally built in the late 16th century. It served as a residence of the Swedish royal court for most of...
- GottorpGottorpGottorf Castle is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the ancestral home of the Holstein-Gottorp branch of the House of Oldenburg...
, Schleswig, (1697–1703) - Holy Trinity Church, KarlskronaKarlskronaKarlskrona is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with 35,212 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Sweden's only remaining naval base and the headquarters of the...
- King Charles' Church, KungsörKungsörKungsör is a locality and the seat of Kungsör Municipality in Västmanland County, Sweden with 5,610 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...