Curatorial notes
Gustave Doré created this illustration depicting a chaotic scene from Don Quixote, filled with dynamic energy and symbolic turmoil. The image shows Don Quixote embroiled in a brawl, a scene underscored by the presence of rats scurrying underfoot. The rats, historically symbols of pestilence and decay, tap into a deep-seated fear of disorder and moral corruption. We see echoes of this symbolism in medieval art, where rats often accompany scenes of temptation or moral decline. Think of the danse macabre, where death, often depicted with rodents, mocks human vanity. Here, the rats amplify the farcical nature of Quixote's misadventures, reducing his knightly aspirations to a squalid reality. This symbol has seen a cyclical return, finding new resonance in modern anxieties about urban decay. Its evolution shows us how collective memory shapes and reshapes these symbols, imbuing them with ever-shifting layers of meaning.
