Maximilian became Emperor of Mexico in 1864... strongly opposed by forces who remained loyal to Mexico’s deposed president, when Napoleon withdrew French troops in 1866, Maximilian’s rule collapsed. He was executed by firing squad... Maximilian even turned down the offer of escape, which would have... Laurens shows Maximilian comforting the priest who has come to his cell prior to his execution, while another man (presumably a servant) is on his knees and fervently grasping Maximilian’s left hand. The door to the cell is wide open, and on its threshold stands a Mexican officer in his finest dress, complete with a sword, bearing the orders for the execution to take place. Although a pale shadow of any depiction of the execution itself, Laurens’ reversal of roles – where Maximilian is comforting the priest whose role is to comfort the condemned man – introduces an unusual twist. [https://eclecticlight.co/2016/07/18/the-story-in-paintings-jean-paul-laurens-and-the-end-of-history/]