The Hunger Artist (a.k.a. The Starvation Artist) Timeline and Summary

At the peak of his popularity, the artist draws crowds to his performance.
He is watched by a group of mostly butchers, who ensure that he does not take a bite.
He starves for a period of forty days.
At the end of the period, he is led out of his cage to great fanfare, where a small meal has been prepared for him.
For some unknown reason, the artist's popularity takes a nosedive. No one wants to watch him anymore.
The artist fires his manager and signs on with a circus.
At the circus, he can starve for as long as he wants, so long that not even he knows the exact number of days he's been starving.
Some time later, the circus supervisor finds the artist under some straw in the cage. The artist whispers his last words to the circus supervisor and dies.
The circus workers bury the artist along with the straw and put a young panther in his cage.