Execution of Emperor Maximilian, Manet's paintings and his coffin in the Vienna Furniture Museum

The coffin of Maximilian of Habsburg, Archduke of Austria and Emperor of Mexico, who came to the throne with the help of Napoleon III and by means of a so-called plebiscite.

Maximilian was in many respects a charming ruler, but he failed to hold on to power: he swerved sharply away from the conservative course and cooperated with the opposition, and all the more so once he found himself without the support of the French expeditionary corps. Do read up on it, it is a most interesting story.

The government of Juárez, which overthrew Maximilian, brought him before a military tribunal despite the protests of world leaders, and he was sentenced to be shot. Manet has several paintings depicting the emperor's execution itself.

After the execution, Maximilian's body was sent to Europe by ship, in this very coffin, which is now kept in the Vienna Furniture Museum together with a great many other objects documenting the life of the Viennese court.

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Execution of Emperor Maximilian, Manet's paintings and his coffin in the Vienna Furniture Museum

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