Göran Schildt


Gustaf Ernst Göran Schildt was a Finnish Swede author and art historian. He was the son of the author Runar Schildt and Miia Mathilda Heikel.

Life and work

Schildt is perhaps best known for his travelogues with the sailboat Daphne. He made the decision to become a Mediterranean sailor after being seriously injured during the Finnish Winter War and forced to spend a year and a half in hospital. "Then I thought that if I can do this, I will realize my dream: I will get a boat and sail around all corners of the Mediterranean," he later said. The architect Alvar Aalto was one of the guests at Daphne and their lifelong friendship was the basis for Schildt's masterpiece, the three-part biography of Aalto.
Schildt went to school at the in Helsinki], graduating in 1934. He studied languages at the Sorbonne in Paris from 1934 to 1935, earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of Helsinki in 1943,and received his doctorate in philosophy with a dissertation on the painter Cezanne and also studied languages at the Sorbonne in Paris. He moved to Sweden in 1945 and was an art and literature critic for Svenska Dagbladet 1950–1990. He was offered a professorship in art history the University of Helsinki, but chose to continue as a writer.
Göran Schildt lived in Villa Skeppet in Ekenäs in Finland and in Villa Kolkis on the island of Leros in Greece. He was married from 1941–1964 to the glass artist Monica Ulrika Morales, and from 1966 to Christine Ellen Helene Schildt, born Werthmann.

Publications

Schildt has written at least 30 publications in Swedish.His doctoral dissertation from 1947 was titled Riktlinjer för en enhetlig psykologisk tolkning av Paul Cezannes personlighet och konst mot bakgrunden av den allmänna romantiska livskonflikten.
Among his publications in English is In the Wake of Odysseus.The original Swedish edition was titled I Odysseus kölvatten.
A selection of his original works in Swedish includes:Önskeleken Cezanne Gide och människan Önskeresan I Odysseus kölvatten Daphne och Apollon Paris’ hemliga tecken Tre veckor i Sovjet Medelhav Solbåten Ikaros’ hav Med Daphne i sexton länder Världsögat och individen Resa på Nilen Upptäcktsfärd i Sverige Kontrakurs Det gyllene skinnet Loggbok. Stockholm — Rapallo Segla på Medelhavet Skulptur i Finland Dianas ö
Schildt also translated several works into Swedish, particularly by André Gide, including Vatikanens källare, Om inte vetekornet dör, and Äktenskapsskolan. Additionally, he edited and wrote introductions for several books, including editions of A. E. Nordenskiöld's Vegas färd kring Asien och Europa and Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim's Till häst genom Asien.

Awards and recognition

Person has received the following awards and recognition: