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Nations Collection | The Nordics
About the Sculpture
Odin
Sculpted by the Swedish artist Bengt Erland Fogelberg in 1830, Odin presents the chief god of Norse mythology as a monumental warrior and ruler.
The figure stands upright in full armour, holding a spear in one hand and a shield at his side. His long beard, stern expression and richly decorated helmet give the sculpture a solemn and commanding presence.
In Norse mythology, Odin was associated with war, wisdom, poetry, magic and the pursuit of knowledge. He was regarded as the ruler of the gods and one of the central figures of the old Norse belief system.
Fogelberg became known for combining subjects from Nordic mythology with the formal language of classical sculpture, giving figures such as Odin the grandeur of ancient Greek and Roman gods.
Carved in Carrara marble, Odin remains one of the most striking nineteenth-century interpretations of Norse mythology.
Nations T-Shirt | Norway
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Nations T-Shirt | Denmark
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Nations T-Shirt | Sweden
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Nations T-Shirt | Finland
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Nations Collection | The Baltics
About the Painting
The Hetman's Guard
Straż hetmańska, or The Hetman's Guard, is a historical military painting by the Polish artist Wacław Pawliszak, whose work frequently returned to the soldiers, cavalry and conflicts of earlier centuries.
The painting presents a mounted hussar in richly detailed armour and dress, transforming the solitary guard into a striking image of ceremony, vigilance and military presence.
Pawliszak was particularly associated with historical and battle painting and often drew his subjects from the seventeenth-century military history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Trained in Kraków and influenced by the tradition of nineteenth-century Polish historical painting, Pawliszak developed a strong interest in horses, riders, weapons and historic costume.
In The Hetman's Guard, those elements are brought together in a concentrated equestrian portrait, connecting nineteenth-century painting with the martial imagery of early modern Central and Eastern Europe.
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Nations T-Shirt | Latvia
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Nations T-Shirt | Lithuania
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Nations T-Shirt | Lithuania State Flag
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Nations Collection | The Anglosphere
About the Painting
Military of the Peninsular War
Created by the British artist Sir Robert Ker Porter in 1810, Military of the Peninsular War belongs to the artist’s body of work devoted to military subjects.
The work is executed in watercolor and pen and black ink over graphite on cream wove paper, combining carefully drawn lines with transparent passages of colour.
Its subject refers to the Peninsular War, the conflict fought in Spain and Portugal during the wider Napoleonic Wars and one of the defining military struggles of the early nineteenth century.
Measuring approximately 44.1 by 37.1 centimetres, the sheet demonstrates the detailed observational character of Porter’s military imagery on a relatively intimate scale.
Today, Military of the Peninsular War belongs to the Prints and Drawings collection of the Yale Center for British Art and forms part of the Paul Mellon Collection.
Nations T-Shirt | United Kingdom
€60
Nations T-Shirt | England
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Nations T-Shirt | United States of America
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Nations Collection | The Continent
About the Painting
Bonaparte Crossing the Grand Saint-Bernard Pass
Painted by Jacques-Louis David at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Bonaparte Crossing the Grand Saint-Bernard Pass presents Napoleon Bonaparte as a commanding figure moving through the Alps.
Mounted on a rearing horse and surrounded by wind, rock and movement, Bonaparte dominates the composition. The dramatic pose transforms the Alpine crossing into an image of determination, authority and momentum.
The subject refers to the crossing of the Grand Saint-Bernard Pass in 1800 during the French campaign in Italy.
David created several versions of the celebrated equestrian portrait. Its monumental scale, controlled composition and idealised presentation helped make it one of the most recognisable images of the Napoleonic era.
Combining the formal discipline of Neoclassicism with dramatic movement and heroic imagery, the painting became an enduring representation of political and military power in early nineteenth-century Europe.
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Nations Collection | The East
About the Painting
Caucasian Horseman
Created by Aleksander Orłowski in 1814, Caucasian Horseman depicts a mounted Circassian rider and reflects the early nineteenth-century fascination with the peoples and military cultures of the Caucasus.
The rider is shown in profile, dressed in regional costume and seated on a richly observed horse, giving the image both a documentary and a romantic character.
One notable detail is the tamga displayed on the horse, identified as the mark of the noble Circassian Nazran family.
The work is dated 1814 and is listed as a graphic work by Orłowski, executed in watercolour and ceruse on paper pasted onto cardboard, measuring approximately 54.5 by 43 centimetres.
Today, Caucasian Horseman is associated with the Dagestan Museum of Fine Arts named after P. S. Gamzatova, with provenance from the State Tretyakov Gallery.
Nations T-Shirt | Poland
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Nations T-Shirt | Ukraine
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Nations Collection | The Balkans
About the Painting
A Turk Surrenders to a Greek Horseman
Painted by the French artist Eugène Delacroix in 1856, A Turk Surrenders to a Greek Horseman presents a dramatic encounter between a mounted Greek warrior and a defeated Ottoman figure.
Delacroix returned in the 1850s to subjects that had fascinated him earlier in his career, combining history, literature and imagination rather than presenting the scene as a straightforward record of a single event.
The composition draws on imagery associated with Lord Byron's poem The Giaour, while contemporary viewers could also have connected the scene with the Greek War of Independence, a subject that had strongly influenced Delacroix during the 1820s.
The mounted figure dominates the composition, while the surrendering man, discarded weapon and fallen figure intensify the sense of military confrontation and defeat.
Executed in oil on canvas and measuring approximately 80 by 64 centimetres, the painting is now held by the Harvard Art Museums' Fogg Museum.
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Nations Collection | The Mediterranean
About the Sculpture
Aeneas Carrying His Father Anchises
Created between 1697 and 1716 by the French sculptor Pierre Lepautre and completed with the assistance of Jacques Bousseau, this monumental group presents one of the defining episodes of classical mythology.
Aeneas carries his elderly father Anchises on his shoulders as they escape the destruction of Troy, while the young Ascanius follows beside them.
Carved from Carrara marble, the sculpture stands approximately 2.64 metres high. The intertwined figures create a powerful vertical composition in which movement, physical strength and family duty are brought together.
The subject connects the fall of Troy with the legendary origins of Rome. In the ancient tradition, Aeneas survives the ruined city and begins the journey that will eventually lead his descendants toward Italy.
The sculpture was begun at the end of the seventeenth century, completed in 1716 and later displayed in the Tuileries before entering the Louvre, where it forms part of the museum's collection of French sculpture.
Nations T-Shirt | Greece
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