Bengt Bengtsson Oxenstierna af Eka och Lindö (1591–1643), Baron, Councillor of the Realm, Equerry of the Realm and Diplomat, 1637

Jacob Heinrich Elbfas (1600 - 1664), Attributed to

Artist/Maker

Artist: Jacob Heinrich Elbfas (1600 - 1664), Attributed to

DatesMade: Executed 1637

Material / Technique

Oil on canvas

Dimensionsh x w: Mått 214 x 116 cm

Inventory numberNMGrh 976

AcqusitionTransferred 1866 from Gripsholm Castle

Other titlesTitle (sv): Bengt Bengtsson Oxenstierna af Eka och Lindö (1591–1643), friherre, riksråd, riksstallmästare, diplomat, 1637 Title (en): Bengt Bengtsson Oxenstierna af Eka och Lindö (1591–1643), Baron, Councillor of the Realm, Equerry of the Realm and Diplomat, 1637 Label (sv): Bengt Bengtsson Oxenstierna, kallad ”Resare-Bengt”, diplomat, ämbetsman, riksråd (1591–1643) Label (en): Bengt Bengtsson Oxenstierna, known as “Traveller-Bengt”, diplomat, official, privy counsellor (1591–1643) Previous: Bengt Bengtsson Oxenstierna, 1591-1643

DescriptionDescription: Following lengthy studies, Bengt Oxenstierna travelled widely in the 1610s, visiting Jerusalem, Tunis and Algiers, Aleppo and Baghdad, Egypt and Persia. On his return to Sweden he was entrusted with diplomatic missions, and from 1634 he was gover- nor general of Livonia. As stated below the suggestive view of an avenue, he is chiefly remembered for having “roamed almost the whole world”. Since the 18th century, he has often been referred to as “Traveller Bengt”.

Depicted Person

Bengt Bengtsson Oxenstierna (1591 - 1643)

Collection

Paintings (Paintings)

MaterialDuk, Oil paint

TechniquePainting

Additional texteDescription: Long after his death, Bengt Oxenstierna came to be known as “Traveller-Bengt”, thanks to his many eastward journeys. On one such journey, which lasted six years, he visited Tunis, Aleppo, Jerusalem and Bagdad. In the Persian city of Isfahan, Traveller-Bengt wrote on a monastery wall how someone who had God and virtue as his travel companions would travel safely. In the portrait, under the door opening onto a garden avenue, we can read that Bengt “has travelled and wandered almost the entire world and knows its languages and dialects”. Traveller-Bengt’s life was depicted in a biography by Sven Hedin, published in 1921.