This is one of the best known images from Sweden’s 19th century art: the moment when king Gustavus Adolphus dies on the battlefield in Lützen on 6 November 1632. In the chaotic battle scene everything is focused on a centre that is strangely calm. The dead king, powerfully illuminated, seems to slide from his horse whereupon he is caught up by a horrified Swedish soldier. The king is portrayed as a national hero and martyr, a figure reminiscent of portrayals of the dead Christ.