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(Scene from Don Quixote)

John Ritto Penniman, born Milford, MA 1782-died Baltimore, MD 1841

This painting shows a scene from the seventeenth-century novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Inspired by stories of chivalry, Don Quixote traveled “through the world in search of adventures.” He met a young girl who had run away from home disguised in boy’s clothing. Here, she has just been discovered by three of Quixote’s companions, who stare in confusion, aroused by “his” beautiful long legs that appear to be made of “pure alabaster.”

Date

1816

Type

Painting

Medium

oil on wood

Department

SAAM

Institution

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Object number

saam_1970.186

Credit

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. George Viault