Martyrdom and sacralization of Maximilian of Habsburg: path towards legitimization and forgiveness

Abstract

The execution of Maximilian of Habsburg and his two generals, Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía at Cerro de las Campanas, Querétaro, on June 19, 1867, produced a series of visual vestiges such as lithographs, photographs, and paintings that tried to reflect the condition of lay martyr that the ill-fated emperor acquired from that moment on. Many of these images tried to establish an analogy with respect to the biblical passage of the crucifixion since they portray a man about to die next to two prisoners, as well as the inclusion of crosses, pious witnesses, and priests. This dissertation also contemplates the construction of places of memory, such as the expiatory chapel of the Cerro de las Campanas to perpetuate the memory of a man who, according to the artists, sympathizers, and witnesses of the trance, had died unjustly. Through an iconographic analysis of some of these visual representations that appeared both in Mexico and in Europe, we will try to confirm this hypothesis.