Illustration to Cervantes' Don Quixote 18th-19th century

Curator: This etching, "Illustration to Cervantes' Don Quixote" by Daniel Chodowiecki, invites us into a scene of public spectacle. Editor: My first thought? Pure theater! The way everyone’s peering from those windows, it’s like they’re at the opera, not a dusty street. Curator: Chodowiecki, born in 1726, was a master of detail. Note how he uses line to convey not just form, but the texture of clothing, the expressions of amusement, the weight of the armor. Editor: The armor! Talk about your symbols of delusion. Quixote’s got that glint in his eye, the one where fantasy trumps reality. I think it's a fascinating look into how we all construct our own narratives. Curator: Indeed. And the audience, both within the image and those of us viewing it now, become complicit in his performance. Perhaps we, too, are susceptible to the allure of grand narratives. Editor: Absolutely! Makes you wonder, what "windmills" are we tilting at today? What stories are we choosing to believe, no matter how absurd? Curator: A timeless question evoked by a small, yet powerfully resonant image.