Year 1868 | Created 1868 | |
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Dimensions 65.2 cm × 104.2 cm (25.7 in × 41.0 in) Similar Jean-Léon Gérôme artwork, Other artwork | ||
The Execution of Marshal Ney (French: L'exécution du maréchal Ney) is an 1868 painting by the French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme. It depicts the French Marshal Michel Ney right after his execution on 7 December 1815, with the firing squad seen walking from the site. On the wall behind Ney's corpse are two inscriptions: one that says "vive l'empereur" ("long live the emperor") and is crossed out, and one that says "vive" right before the bullet holes from the execution. According to Gérôme this was a comment on Ney's multiple shifts of allegiance between Napoleon and the House of Bourbon.
The painting has been owned by the Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust since 1931.
Reception
The painting was presented at the 1868 Paris Salon. On behalf of Ney's descendants, Gérôme was asked to withdraw the painting, but did not comply. The general reception was very split and the 1868 Salon marked the beginning of a lasting divide between Gérôme and many French art critics. Those who were negative accused the painting of relying on literary techniques, of commercialising art, and of bringing politics into art. Henri Oulevay made a charicature where Gérôme is depicted in front of the wall with the art critics as the firing squad. Théophile Gautier wrote a positive review where he highlighted the many details that give the picture meaning, Gérôme's treatment of the death theme and how the painting captures a mental climate.