Manet, Édouard (1832-1883)
L’exécution de l’empereur Maximilien (The Execution of Emperor Maximilian)
1867
Oil on canvas, 195.9 x 259.7 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
In 1867, Maximilian, emperor of Mexico, was executed with two of his generals—Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía—by order of the former president, Benito Juárez, who opposed the oppressive French occupation of Mexico. French emperor Napoleon III had installed the Austrian archduke Maximilian as a puppet emperor in 1864, but later withdrew support for his regime. When news of this incident reached Paris, Manet, who was ideologically averse to Napoleon III’s imperialist intervention in Mexico, broke with tradition by interpreting this contemporary event on the grand scale usually reserved for scenes from ancient history or myth. This expressive and unresolved canvas is the first of several versions, its free handling bestowing a sense of immediacy on the charged scene. For its composition, Manet selected evidence from documentary materials while engaging with art historical precedents, notably including Francisco Goya’s 1814 painting “Third of May 1808,” which Manet likely saw at the Museo del Prado in Madrid in 1865. (MFA)
Photograph of the execution of Maximilian (right) Miramón (center) and Mejía (left).
Photograph of the Mexican firing squad that executed Emperor Maximilian I, commanded by Colonel Palacios (right).
Compare:
Manet, Édouard (1832-1883)
Exécution de l’Empereur Maximilien du Mexique
1867
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen
Manet, Édouard (1832-1883)
L’exécution de Maximilien
c.1867–1868
National Gallery, London
Manet, Édouard (1832-1883)
L’exécution de l’empereur Maximilien
1868–1869
Kunsthalle Mannheim, Mannheim
See also:
• Maximilian I of Mexico (1832-1867)