Illustration to Cervantes, "Don Quixote" 1940

Imre Reiner made this illustration to Cervantes’ "Don Quixote" with loose, searching marks that dance across the page, feeling for the forms of the characters. I can almost see him making it, can't you? Trying to wrangle the essence of Don Quixote and his world. The lines are tentative, like thoughts forming, as if the image is emerging from the mist of Reiner's imagination. The palette is understated: just the paper and the dark ink. It really throws the emphasis onto the line itself. Look at the horse! It’s like a scribble that somehow captures the spirit of Rocinante, Quixote’s trusty steed. I wonder if Reiner was thinking about Daumier and his illustrations? Or maybe Goya? There's a similar sense of melancholy and humanity in their works, a recognition of the absurdities and tragedies of life. In the end, art is just a big conversation through time, isn't it? Each artist picking up where another left off, adding their own voice to the chorus. It's so much bigger than one individual.