The Execution of Maximilian

Give the index card for The Execution of Emperor Maximilian

The Execution of Emperor Maximilian, Manet, oil on canvas, 1867-8, National Gallery, London

Give the historical context of the subject

• Emperor Maximilian was placed on the Mexican throne as a puppet emperor

• Withdrawal of French troops when a strong Mexican republican movement emerged led to him being shot and killed

• News of this only reached France later, and was highly controversial

How was this piece influenced by the development of modern technology?

Manet was influenced by a photo he saw in the newspaper

Why is this version of the painting now so fragmented?

It deteriorated in Manet’s studio after his death, and was cut up by his family to raise funds

How was this piece inspired by Goya?

• Immediacy of the image

• Broken brushstrokes

• Political content

• Both question authority/ruling regimes

• Here Manet is questioning Napoleon

How was Manet influenced by Courbet? How do they differ?

• Anti establishment

• Breaking the rules of chromatics and light

• Manet is far more direct and less conceptual

How is Manet similar to the Impressionists? How is he different to them?

Both Manet and the Impressionists focus on the contemporary, but the Impressionists are apolitical

Give the elements necessary for a thumbnail sketch of this piece

• A cluster of soldiers stand in the centre of the image with their backs to the viewer

• Their guns are pointed towards the left of the image, at the Emperor

• They are dressed in a grey uniform with white belts and grey caps

• In the background, green hills, blue mountains and a blue-grey stormy sky can be seen

• The soldiers’ guns are smoking, suggesting that somebody has just been shot

• On the far left, a Mexican man dressed in a white shirt and green trousers faces the executioners

• He holds a black sleeved hand, presumably that of the Emperor

• On the far right, a soldier with a red and white cap nonchalantly cleans his gun

What structure is made by the soldiers and their guns? What is their significance?

• The heightened contrast between the verticals of the soldiers and the horizontals of their guns make a grid like structure

• Its rigid and almost mechanical effect gives the piece an austere feel and uncompromising effect

What is the significance of the occlusion of the soldiers’ gaze?

• Renders the image cold and impersonal

• Anonymises them; are merely a machine acting on behalf of a larger power

What is the significance of the landscape in the background?

The landscape in the distance suggests freedom, adding a sense of pathos

What is the significance of the image’s scale?

• It is life size

• This heightens the sense of betrayal and victimhood of the emperor, and the unnaturalness of the scene

How is the image technically detailed?

• The smoke coming out of the gun

• Creates a multisensory effect

• Heightens a sense of realism

How is the painting divided? What effect does this create?

• Painting is divided into 3 sections horizontally

• Emphasises heads, hands and legs

• Emphasises various aspects of the execution

What effect does the left to right narrative create?

• A sense of immediacy

• This is underpinned by the directional rifle butts

Is the landscape detailed? What impact does this have on the rest of the image?

• The landscape is sparsely detailed

• This focuses he gaze on the figures, who are situated uncomfortably close to the picture plane

What is the effect of monochromatic tones on the image?

• Emphasises the event’s grave nature and brutality

Where can the influence of photography be seen?

• Hats and belts are accurately depicted

• Their depiction in colour (the photograph was in black and white) gives the piece a mimetic effect, emphasising its reality

How does Manet draw attention to the subject’s humanity?

• His depiction of his clenched hand, holding that of his supporter

• The contrast between his black sleeve and his supporter’s white one draws attention to this detail

What is the significance of the nonchalant soldier at the back?

• Reflects Maximilains’s insignificance

• Is simply a man in a foreign country with a few of his supporters

• Is essentially alone

What two forms of art does the image straddle?

• History painting

• Modern reportage

Who is this piece criticising?

Napoleon III

Was Manet’s decision to paint this a wise one?

• No

• Could be seen as suggesting that Napoleon III should suffer the same fate

How does the painting’s contemporary form arguably reflect the wisdom of Manet’s decision?

Its brokenness shows that it shouldn’t exist