Road From Biešankovičy to Ostrovno 1812 

Albrecht Adam painted ‘Road From Biešankovičy to Ostrovno 1812’ to depict a scene from the French invasion of Russia, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Adam, who personally witnessed the events, captures Napoleon and his troops on horseback, moving through the landscape. It’s interesting to think about how war and conflict shape identity, both on a personal and national level. Adam, as an artist embedded with the French army, provides us with a view of Napoleon, not as some untouchable figure, but as a person moving through a real place. What did it mean for Adam as a German artist to be capturing these moments of French military history? How did the soldiers' identities shift and change during this campaign far from home? It leaves us to consider how war makes and unmakes identities, blurring lines of nationality. Beyond strategy, there’s a human element of identity, place, and experience.