Don Quixote and Sancho Panza Entertained by Basil and Quiteria

In the pictureIn a plain room with a cupboard and plates, a man in a red cap stands with a woman in blue, and on a chair at the left sits a man with a gaunt face, his hands resting on his knees. On the right are a stout man leaning on a table and a woman in a white hood, and a hat and a small devotional image hang on the wall.

BackgroundIn 1863 Gustave Doré made hundreds of illustrations for Don Quixote, effectively fixing how the novel is pictured. This oil dates from the same period as those illustrations and shows the scene in which Basil, who has won the bride Quiteria by a trick at the wedding of the rich Camacho, invites Don Quixote and Sancho to his home. It is worth comparing how the black-and-white lines of the illustrations were carried into color in the painting.

Puzzle tipThe blue dress, the red cap and the white hood are clear reference points. Assemble the figures' faces first, set up the upper frame with the straight lines of the cupboard and the framed pictures on the wall, then fill in the brown floor and walls. Hard (about 100 pieces) is a good fit.