The Execution of Marshal Ney

The Execution of Marshal Ney
Artist	Jean-Léon Gérôme
Year	1868
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	65.2 cm × 104.2 cm (25.7 in × 41.0 in)
Location	Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust, Sheffield

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.^[1] According to Gérôme this was a comment on Ney's multiple shifts of allegiance between Napoleon and the House of Bourbon.^[2]

The painting has been owned by the Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust since 1931.^[3]

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.^[4] 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.^[2] Henri Oulevay made a charicature where Gérôme is depicted in front of the wall with the art critics as the firing squad.^[5] 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.^[6]

References

Notes

Literature

• Mitchell, Claudine (2010). "The Damaged Mirror: Gérôme's Narrative Technique and the Fractures of French History". In Allan, Scott; Morton, Mary. Reconsidering Gérôme. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum. ISBN 978-1-60606-038-4.