Honoré-Victorin Daumier (1808–1879) often used Miguel de Cervantes’s comic novel Don Quixote as a source for paintings and drawings. These always feature Don Quixote himself, who is usually accompanied by his faithful companion, Sancho Panza. This picture probably depicts the incident when Don Quixote, on horseback in the centre of the painting, charges at a cloud of dust, which he has mistaken for two armies about to do battle. Sancho Panza, who sits on a mule on the right, drinks from a flagon, having explained to the Don that the dust is caused by flocks of sheep.
This small and almost monochrome oil painting on a wood panel is most likely a trial or preliminary sketch for a larger painting now in an American collection. Daumier’s profession as a caricaturist is evident in his use of swiftly sketched outlines and dramatic contrasts of light and dark to convey the essential components of the narrative without unnecessary detail.
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Martin Davies, with additions and some revisions by Cecil Gould, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, etc.’, London 1970; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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