The Execution of Emperor Maximilian
L'Exécution de l'empereur Maximilien
Artwork Specifications
- Dimensions
- 252 × 305 cm
- Location
- Kunsthalle Mannheim
Meet the artist
Where to see it
Kunsthalle Mannheim
Mannheim, GermanyThe definitive version of a subject that consumed Manet from 1867 to 1869. Depicts the firing-squad execution of Maximilian I of Mexico on June 19, 1867. The firing squad wears French army uniforms, and the soldier preparing the coup de grâce resembles Napoleon III — an unmistakable accusation of French responsibility.
Draws deliberately on Goya's Third of May 1808, but Manet's treatment is coolly detached. French authorities banned it from public exhibition.
This final Mannheim version (1868-69) refines earlier attempts. Multiple versions exist at MFA Boston, National Gallery London, and Copenhagen. Acquired by Kunsthalle Mannheim in 1910.
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