Olof Tempelman | |
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Born | Olof Samuel Tempelman February 21, 1745 Källstad, Östergötland, Sweden |
Died | July 27, 1816 Stockholm, Sweden | (aged 71)
Occupation(s) | Architect, professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts |
Olof Samuel Tempelman (February 21, 1745 in Källstad, Östergötland – July 27, 1816 in Stockholm) was a Swedish architect and, from 1779, professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. He was appointed royal architect in 1799.
He was the son of Samuel Tempelman (1711-1748), curate of Herrestad, and his wife Susanna Maria Ridderström (1718-1753). According to tradition, the name was derived from the Templars. The family had immigrated from Dorpat in Estonia, and had for generations lived in Östergötland. Susanna was the daughter of a captain and grew up in Östergötland. When Tempelman was three years old, his father died. He was cared for by his father's older brother, Peter Tempelman, who served as priest in the Östra Stenby congregation. His uncle was a man of scientific interest, who collected books and had contact with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Tempelman had a happy childhood and showed an early interest in design. His received his early education at home and continued studying, along with his cousin, at the high school in Linköping.
At Uppsala University in 1763, he began studying theology and the humanities while working as a tutor for income. But he eventually immersed himself in science, following in the likes of Carl Linnaeus, Anders Celsius, and Samuel Klingenstierna. Tempelman wrote a thesis in astronomy under Daniel Melanderhjelm before starting on a master's thesis in physics, De frictione corporum super plano horizontale motorum.
Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz succeeded Carl Johan Cronstedt as Superintendent of Antiquities in 1767, and two years later, he hired Tempelman. Adelcrantz hired Tempelman for his insight and skill, and took a personal interest in his development. While Tempelman wrote his master's thesis, he began work as an architect at the Superintendent's office. The thesis was elegantly illustrated and dedicated to Adelcrantz. He also continued to tutor and met the city architect Carl Henric König, one of the era's most skilled and high-profile architects as well as technically literate; he created drawings and descriptions for the inventor Christopher Polhem. This was the area that interested Tempelman.
In the spring of 1775, Adelcrantz sent Tempelman on a study trip to Copenhagen. In October 1776, Gustav III assigned Tempelman to be an information aide for fortifications; he trained under Fredrik Dederichs who taught prospective officers and architects since the 1750s, including Erik Palmstedt. Tempelman came to be involved in Gustav III's new opera house at Norrmalmstorg. It was a complex project and Adelcrantz appointed Tempelman to be responsible for project implementation. Tempelman designed Gustav III's Pavilion in with detailed instructions from the king. Many of Tempelman projects related to churches but there were also other public buildings. In addition, he undertook private commissions. Adelcrantz often made the first sketches, but the two men worked closely together.
Adelcrantz urged Tempelman to become a professor. In 1780, he was appointed professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. Tempelman traveled to Paris and Rome. He visited Naples with Carl August Ehrensvärd and they also made a trip to Pompeii and Vesuvius, returning home via Venice, Milan, Genoa, Antibes, Marseille, and Paris. The 1780s were a successful period of increasingly independent tasks, and, with international experience, he developed a more independent design. The 1790s were a politically unsettled time in Sweden. In July 1798, Tempelman complained that sight in one of his eyes was deteriorating. The office of the Superintendent of Antiquities, however, was still busy designing churches, schools, and hospitals, especially outside Stockholm, and this is where Tempelman gave significant effort. After suffering two serious illnesses within a year, his physical and emotional health deteriorated. He did not give up work entirely, continuing for several years at the office of the Superintendent of Antiquities, and also teaching at the academy.
Through his connections with Adelcrantz, Tempelman met Britta Elisabet Gyllenstam, daughter of Colonel Jonas Zacharias Gyllenstam and Catharina Elisabeth von Numers. They married in 1782. In the following year, they had a daughter, Mary Catherine, who died as an infant; his wife died a year later. Tempelman secondly married Dorothea Catherina Pagenkopff, the daughter of the German shoemaker Michael C. Pagenkopff, in 1804. They had five children, two boys who died early, and three girls. Tempelman died on 27 July 1816, and was buried in Stockholm, leaving behind his wife and three daughters.