Canterbury’s Beaney Museum has been chosen as the first venue to host a touring exhibition of Manet’s The Execution of Maximilian.

It depicts the fatal moment when the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, captured by Mexican revolutionaries, was executed alongside two of his generals in June 1867.

The French painter dressed the firing squad in French rather than Mexican uniform, implying French responsibility for Maximilian’s death.

As a result, the painting was never exhibited and Manet’s lithograph version was banned from publication.

Cut up after Manet’s death for easier sale, the painting’s fragments were bought and reunited by fellow French artist Edgar Degas and acquired by the National Gallery in March 1918.

The work will be on show at the Beaney from Friday, January 17, to Sunday, March 16, as part of the National Gallery’s Masterpiece Tour, aimed at bringing its popular paintings to a wide audience.

The gallery is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 9am to 7pm on Thursday and 10am to 5pm on Sunday.

Admission is free. Call 01227 378100.

Day of Celebration

To celebrate the arrival of Manet’s work, a day of activities are being held at the Beaney on Saturday, January 18:

Manet Masterpiece Bitesize talks – Special Exhibitions Room

11am, noon, 2pm and 3pm: A 10-minute talk about The Execution of Maximilian by a Beaney curator. Suitable for ages 10 and above. Admission is free.

Manet Masterpiece family art activities - The Learning Lab

10am to 4pm: Drop in and take part in creative art activities inspired by Manet and the Impressionists. Suitable for all. Admission is £2 per child, £5 per family.

Colourful Stories– The Library

10am and 2pm: Listen to tales chosen to celebrate Manet’s Masterpiece, aimed at ages two to five. Admission is free.

The Amici Singers – Explorers and Collectors gallery

11.30am to 12.30pm: Listen to Grenville Hancox and his community choir, the Amici Singers. Admission free.

Trouble & Strife: Exhibition launch – The Front Room

10.30am to 11.30am: Exhibition by Kent artists responding to the themes of struggle and conflict. Admission is free.

Visit www.canterbury.co.uk/Beaney