Carl von Platen

• Name — Carl von Platen • Birth Name — Carl Ludvig Gustaf von Platen • Born — 14 April 1863 • Birthplace — Stockholm, Sweden • Died — 27 February 1929 • Place of death — Solna, Stockholm, Sweden • Education — Uppsala University • Occupation — Photographer, writer, music critic, civil servant • Known for — Pioneer of early homoerotic photography in Sweden • Notable Works — Confiscated photographic collection (c. 1900–1903) • Parents — Carl Ludvig Gustaf von Platen and Clara Virginia Hierta • Disappeared Status — Declared legally incompetent (1903–1929)

• Illustration — Carl von Platen when he studied in Uppsala in 1881 Carl von Platen was born in Stockholm, Sweden, into the prominent, noble von Platen family. He was the son of Carl Ludvig Gustaf von Platen (1824–1904) and Clara Virginia Hierta (1839–1863). He attended Uppsala University, graduating in 1882 with a law preliminary examination. For a period, he held positions as an assistant professor (amanuens) at the National Museum and the Royal Library, beginning in 1887. He also maintained an upper-class lifestyle, owning a share in a house in Stockholm and a villa in Råsunda. He was known to have private means, which afforded him extensive travel. In addition to photography, von Platen was a prolific travel writer and music critic. From 1898 to 1913, often using the pseudonym "Anteros", he published almost one hundred reviews and musical overviews, primarily from Italy, in the journal Svensk Musiktidning - Swedish Music Magazine. He later published a collection of his essays in three volumes, as well as books on actors and ballet dancers. • Illustration — Carl von Platen in 1884 • Illustration — Carl von Platen in 1886

Von Platen's photographic activities led to significant legal trouble.In the autumn of 1903, police raided his Stockholm apartment and confiscated three photo albums, which were intended as evidence of homosexuality. He was arrested and charged with indecency. To spare him from prison and the family from public disgrace, his father successfully argued to the Stockholm City Court that Carl was mentally unbalanced due to his "homosexual inclination" and should be declared legally incompetent. Von Platen, at the age of 40, was declared incapacitated, which resulted in his release from Långholmen prison after a stay in a private psychiatric center. The declaration of incompetence did not significantly restrict his upper-class lifestyle. He continued to travel and write extensively across Europe. Fifteen years later, von Platen was arrested a second time in Malmö for attempting to kiss a young lift-boy at the Kramer hotel, again running afoul of the law prohibiting same-sex acts.

Carl von Platen died on February 27, 1929, at the age of 65, still legally declared incompetent.

• 2009 Confiscated Images - works of Carl von Platen. Museum of Gothenburg • 2016 Confiscated Images of Carl von Platen. Karlsgatan 2, Museum of Swedish & Nordic contemporary art. Vasteras