By Museo Casa de Cervantes
MUSEO CASA DE CERVANTES, VALLADOLID
Cervantes lived in Valladolid between 1604 and 1606. During his stay in the city got the royal privilege to print the first part of The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha and the rate was set for sale. In the summer of 1605 is witnessing an event and documenting this fact has allowed to confirm that this is the true house where the writer lived .
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The house where Cervantes lived in Valladolid, belonged to a group of five houses, all the same, built by Juan de las Navas in 1601 in the calle del Rastro de los carneros.
Phillip III (First three decades 17th century) by UnknownMuseo Casa de Cervantes
In 1601 the Court of Felipe III was established in Valladolid.
Miguel de Cervantes (18th century) by Cornelis Van Haartem (atributed)Museo Casa de Cervantes
Cervantes moved to Valladolid in 1604, where he lived with his sisters Andrea and Magdalena, his daughter Isabel, his niece Constanza and a servant: María de Ceballos.
Don Quixote sick (1905) by Miguel Jadraque y Sánchez de OcañaMuseo Casa de Cervantes
In Valladolid was writed the prologue and the preliminary poetries of his novel Don Quixote, that went on sale in this city at the end of 1604 or in January of 1605.The scene represents the convalescence of Don Quixote (Chapter I of Part II).
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The house that occupied Miguel de Cervantes. includes the receiver, the ladies´parlour, the bedchamber, the little bedchamber, the dining room and the kitchen.
Religion in the life of the Cervantes family
Family documents as the will of the wife of Cervantes or letter of dowry of his daughter Isabel allow to know the family objets of religious devotion.
This Christ crucified, it´s a dead Christ , with the sign of the spear wound in his side, three nails scattered. There was a crucifix in the testament of Mrs. Isabel de Cervantes.
A small figure of the Child Jesus a very common type of pious object in the female world of the time, common in areas such the dais.
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Estrado. “The place where the ladies sit on cushions and receive their visitors”. Sebastián de Covarrubias, Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, 1611.
This image is the patron of Esquivias in Toledo , which was the birthplace of Cervantes 's wife , Catalina de Salazar, locality in which they get married. An image like this included in the her dowry.
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The word aposento was used to refer to the different rooms of the house. Cervantes uses it very often, alluding with it more specifically to the private chamber of someone in particular, with his bed.
The daily life of writer
Cervantes lived with his sisters Andrea and Magdalena, his daughter Isabel, his niece Constanza and the servant María de Ceballos. They settled on the first floor of a modest house at Rastro Street.
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There are numerous testimonies of the use of the estrado, both in literature and in painting. It was normally the most richly decorated room in the house and the one used for receiving visitors.
Untitled (18th century) by UnknownMuseo Casa de Cervantes
17th century coffer or chest, covered in studded red velvet, with its original lock intact; a very rare example as it is not a ‘travelling chest’ as can be seen from the drawers it contains.
Untitled (17th century) by UnknownMuseo Casa de Cervantes
The carpets were placed on the walls to avoid the cold and silvered mirror present in the letter dowry of the daughter of Cervantes.
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This room which is characteristically taken up in part by a dais covered with rugs where normally the women sat in Moorish fashion on cushions following the Spanish custom of Islamic origin.
Untitled (17th century) by UnknownMuseo Casa de Cervantes
Small desktop platform with the same function as the the big ones that can be seen in other rooms of the house, adapted to the dais own space in this room.
Untitled (18th century) by UnknownMuseo Casa de Cervantes
Coffer inlaid from XVII century with geometrical motifs on small diamonds imitating plant themes. These pieces serve to store and transport small items or jewelry.
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Foreign visitors found very surprising that sat in Moorish fashion on cushions although it in Spain it survived practically until the Borbon era.
Untitled (First half 17th century) by UnknownMuseo Casa de Cervantes
This furniture belongs to a desktop group originated in Castile during the XVII century.Is usual the austere exterior,imitating architectural façades. Composed of wood pine , boxwood and walnut.
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The entrance to Cervantes’ rooms is through a receiver room which in the writer’s lifetime would have had a view over the south branch of the River Esgueva, now covered over.
Untitled (18th century) by UnknownMuseo Casa de Cervantes
Ark to store grain from XVII century. Inside has three compartments of different capacities . 22 cm, 25 cm . and 21.5 cm. A historical sign of the daily life of the seventeenth century.
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Sancho Panza looked, gazed and fell in love. What first won his heart were the cooking pots, from which he would have been more than willing to take a decent-sized bowlful. Don Quixote, Part II-C.20.
Tax collector and writer
During his stay in Valladolid in was published 1605 the first part of Don Quixote, with extraordinary success.
During this second stay, Cervantes coincided with various other writers including Francisco de Quevedo, Luis de Góngora, Luis Vélez de Guevara and Tomás Gracián Dantisco.
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The family documents mention various desks and tables, essential items of furniture for a writer.
Untitled (First three decades 18th century) by UnknownMuseo Casa de Cervantes
Engraving depicting the scene narrated in chapter III of the first part of Don Quixote : Don Quixote is knighted on the hostelry. It´s interesting from the standpoint of study of clothing.
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The room is completed by two paintings illustrating scenes of Don Quixote.
Untitled (First half 17th century) by UnknownMuseo Casa de Cervantes
Very fine ebony escritoire or writing desk with the drawers inlaid with ivory depicting St Peter, the Virgin and St Paul, with a leather covered armchair drawn up to it.
Don Quixote sick (1905) by Miguel Jadraque y Sánchez de OcañaMuseo Casa de Cervantes
This canvas show many elements that can be seen in our house: a room with white walls, a staircase with handrails work, red brick soil, a spinning wheel, a desk and an oil lamp standing over and wicker bassket projecting a white fabric.
Museo Casa de Cervantes, Valladolid.
Museo Casa de Cervantes
Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte.
