Stencil for Illustrated Don Quixote (Ehon Don Kihōte) Possibly 1936

Curator: This piece is a stencil for an illustrated Don Quixote, or Ehon Don Kihōte, by Serizawa Keisuke. The Harvard Art Museums hold this work. Editor: The stark contrast immediately strikes me. It’s simultaneously playful and very graphic. Curator: Serizawa was deeply involved in the Mingei movement, which really championed handmade crafts. This stencil highlights the process of production, the labor involved in carving these intricate details. Editor: It is fascinating how this stencil bridges cultures, taking a Spanish novel and filtering it through Japanese artistic traditions, then making it more widely available. Think about the impact of illustrating Don Quixote for a new audience. Curator: Absolutely. The beauty of folk art lies in its functionality. Each cut, each line serves the purpose of mass production while retaining the artist’s touch. Editor: The imagery offers a fascinating glimpse into the globalized world that art can create. It reminds us of the power of art to make stories accessible and transcend cultural boundaries. Curator: Indeed, looking at this stencil, one can appreciate the intersection of craft, literature, and cultural exchange. Editor: A small object, yet it invites us to consider the bigger pictures of storytelling and cultural exchange through accessible art forms.