Don Quixote in the Mountains

Late in life, Honoré Daumier, while continuing to support himself with his lithographs, produced works in oils on highly individual themes. Don Quixote was the human figure he painted most often; this version is regarded as his earliest on that subject. At this time, Daumier's eyesight was failing and he was falling into financial distress.

He passionately painted Don Quixote again and again, crossing desert and mountains with Sancho Panza or attacking a flock of sheep, mistaking them for the enemy. Towards the end of the series, it became impossible to identify the paintings with a particular scene from the novel: Daumier simply shows us, in simplified, loose brushwork, two men on horseback, isolated from society.

See you tomorrow!

P.S. Read here why Honoré Daumier and JMW Turner produced works that resonate with the representations of their times.