Amalia von Helvig (1776–1831)

Amalia von Helvig, née von Imhoff, was born in Weimar, Germany, a daughter of Baron Christoph Adam Karl von Imhoff and his wife Luise von Schardt. Her mother was the younger sister of Charlotte von Stein, the close friend of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The family was closely allied with the court of Weimar. Amalia's education was supervised by her father, who taught her foreign languages; she also studied literature, drawing, painting, music and singing. As the niece of Charlotte von Stein, she knew Goethe and Schiller, who encouraged her to write poetry. In 1791, she made her debut at the court of Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the mother of Duke Karl August of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. She wrote short plays and poems for the ladies of the court. In 1803, she married the Swedish General Karl Gottfried von Helvig, with whom she would have three children, and moved to Stockholm. There she presided over a salon that was a gathering place for leading artists, writers, and scientists, making her a prominent figure in the capital's cultural life. She was considered a source of inspiration for many artists. She was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of arts in 1804. She returned in 1810 to Germany, where she was associated with members of the Romantic movement. She wrote art criticism for journals, and published accounts of her travels. a novel, and several volumes of poems. She returned to Sweden for a visit in 1814-1816 and was part of the circle around writer and salonnière Malla Silfverstolpe in Uppsala.