Currently not on view
The Execution of Maximilian,
1868, printed 1884
Édouard Manet, 1832–1883; born and died Paris, France
Printed by Imprimerie Lemercier et cie., Paris, established 1837
Printed by Imprimerie Lemercier et cie., Paris, established 1837
2014-56
Manet’s lithograph The Execution of Maximilian represents a development in a series of works—including three salon-scaled canvases and an oil sketch—created by the artist between the summer of 1867 and the spring of 1869 that had as their subject the execution of the Austrian Archduke in Mexico on June 19, 1867. When official news of Maximilian’s death reached Paris, public opinion held Napoleon III responsible for the calamity, sparking one of the most significant political scandals of the Second Empire. An outspoken critic of Napoleon III and his government, Manet drew on contemporary news accounts of the tragedy to depict details of Maximilian’s execution; however, he turned to Goya’s prints for stylistic inspiration.
Information
Title
The Execution of Maximilian
Dates
1868, printed 1884
Maker
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
image: 33.4 × 43.4 cm (13 1/8 × 17 1/16 in.)
sheet: 40 × 57.3 cm (15 3/4 × 22 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Laura P. Hall Memorial Fund and Felton Gibbons Fund
Object Number
2014-56
Place Made
Europe, France, Paris
Inscription
Signed in stone, lower left: Manet
Reference Numbers
Guérin 73; Harris 54f; Moreau-Nélaton 79
Culture
Type
Materials
Techniques
Subject
- Etienne Moreau-Nélaton, Manet, graveur et lithographe (Paris: Éditions du "Peintre-graveur illustré," L. Delteil, 1906)., no. 79 (illus.)
- Marcel Guérin, L'oeuvre gravé de Manet (Paris: Floury, 1944)., no. 73
- Jean C. Harris, Edouard Manet: Graphic Works (New York: Collector's Editions, 1970)., no. 54
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Juliet Wilson-Bareau, Françoise Cachin, Charles S. Moffett, Michel Melot, et al., Manet, 1832-1883: Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, April 22-August 8, 1983, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, September 10-November 27, 1983 (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art: Abrams, 1983).
, pp. 277–80 - Jay McKean Fisher, The Prints of Edouard Manet (Washington, D.C.: The Foundation, 1985)., no. 49, pp. 86–87
- John Elderfield, Manet and the Execution of Maximilian (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2006)., pp. 108–116
- "Acquisitions of the Princeton University Art Museum 2014", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 74 (2015): p. 55-77., p. 73
- Juliet Wilson-Bareau, Manet, the Execution of Maximilian: Painting, Politics, and Censorship (London : National Gallery Publications; [Ewing, N.J.] : Princeton University Press, 1992). , pp. 68–69
