Manet's Fragmented 'Execution of Maximilian' Opens November 13 in Pasadena, on Loan from the National Gallery, London
The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California, opens the special exhibition Making History: Manet's "Execution of Maximilian" on November 13, running through March 1, 2027. At its center is Édouard Manet's oil painting The Execution of Maximilian (c. 1867-68), on loan from the National Gallery, London.
Nearly life-sized at 193 by 284 centimeters, the painting is the second of five versions Manet created of the subject, depicting the 1867 execution by firing squad of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and two of his generals by forces serving Benito Juárez. The deaths horrified and captivated Europeans, many of whom, like Manet himself, blamed French emperor Napoleon III; images and reports of the event circulated widely despite strict censorship in France.
The painting's own history is part of the exhibition: Manet was denied the chance to exhibit it in his lifetime, and it was damaged in his studio. After his death in 1883, his heirs cut up what remained of the canvas and sold the pieces separately. Manet's longtime friend Edgar Degas tracked down the fragments and reunited them on a single canvas; the National Gallery, London, acquired the reconstituted painting at Degas's studio sale in 1918.
The exhibition also draws on archival materials from the Getty Research Institute documenting the French occupation of Mexico in the 1860s and the circulation of images of Maximilian and his associates after their deaths, alongside the news reports, portrait photographs and works by Francisco de Goya that Manet drew on, showing how images shape public understanding of volatile political events.
The Norton Simon Museum is at 411 W. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena. It is open Thursday, Monday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday until 7 p.m., and closed Tuesday and Wednesday; parking is free. Admission is $20 for adults, $15 for seniors 62 and over, and free for children 18 and under and students with ID; admission is free for all visitors on the first Friday of each month from 4 to 7 p.m.
Source: Norton Simon Museum
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：马奈《处决马克西米利安》（伦敦国家美术馆藏，约1867至1868年）局部，Norton Simon博物馆官方展览图
