The Barricade
1871
Édouard Manet (French, 1832-1883) printed by Lemercier et Compagnie (French, 19th century)
France
Like Civil War (1871/73), this print is set during the street fighting of the Paris Commune. The troops here mirror the firing squad in Édouard Manet’s The Execution of Maximilian (1868–69), a series of paintings that, due to their political intonations, were not exhibited in Paris under Napoleon III. Here though, instead of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico—a Hapsburg installed by Napoleon III and executed at the hands of a resurgent Mexican army—Manet depicted insurgent Parisian Communards executed by the French army, as it suppressed the uprising.
Lithograph in black, with scraping, on ivory chine laid down on ivory wove paper (chine collé)