Life in the Age of Nationalism. Conscripts in an Italian village cheer a speech by a local dignitary as a soldier says good-bye to his family before joining the army in the field. This portrait pays homage to the Italian peasant, willing to fight for his newborn country. This idealized scene depicts the changing relationship between state and citizen, as nationalism came to predominate at all levels of society. (De Agostini Picture Library/A. Dagli Orti/The Bridgeman Art Library)