Honoré Daumier worked as a caricaturist for French newspapers but was also a painter. He devoted over 20 works to the story of Don Quixote, the idealistic knight in the 17th-century Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Instead of depicting a specific episode however, Daumier here conveys the tragic and comic qualities of the story. The proud, chivalrous but deluded knight is contrasted with his down-to- earth groom, Sancho Panza. The gaunt horse and plump donkey gently mock the unlikely pairing of these two men.
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