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ÉDOUARD MANET
L’Exécution de Maximilien
.
Lithograph on
Chine appliqué
,1868.333x433
mm; 13
1
/
8
x17 inches, full margins. First
state (of 3), before letters. A superb impres-
sion of this important lithograph.
This lithograph represents the execution
of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, an
Austrian-born diplomat and younger
brother of the French allyAustrian emperor
Francis Joseph I, appointed by Napoleon
III, following the overthrow of the Second
Mexican Empire.
Maximilian I had inserted himself in 1864
as head of a “puppet” regime in Mexico,
though most foreign governments refused
to recognize his rule. Following the spread
of the news of Maximilian’s execution on
the continent, Manet (1832-1883) exposed
several versions of the event. In addition
to the current lithograph, Manet created
four oil paintings of the same subject,
today in the collections of the National
Gallery, London; Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston; Kunsthalle, Mannheim and Ny
Carlsberg Glyptothek, Copenhagen.
The composition and subject matter both
recall Francisco José de Goya’s 1814 oil
TheThird of May 1808
, Museo del Prado,
Madrid,while foreshadowing other impor-
tant politically charged works such as Pablo
Picasso’s 1937
Guernica
,Museo Reina Sofia,
Madrid. Guérin 73; Harris 54.
[50,000/80,000]