Cyrus Edwin Dallin, Don Quixote de la Mancha: Knight of the Windmill, 1898. (Expressive form: narrative sculpture).

Unique bronze cast, 58 x 19 x 34" (47 x 48 x 36 cm). Courtesy of Springville Museum of Art.

About the Art

Cyrus Dallin had worked as a sculptor for many years when he decided to return to Paris and bring his work up to the technical standards of the French masters. While studying, he sculpted Don Quixote in the tight academic style of the official French art of the late 1800s.

Although the cost of casting was prohibitively high (before the days of acetylene torches and rubber molds), Dallin scraped together the money. He wanted the piece to be able to compete with the French artworks in the Paris Salon. The critic William H. Downs hailed the work as "one of the most delightfully original and imaginative of American sculptures."

The subject of the sculpture is from Miguel de Cervantes' classic 17th-century novel Don Quixote, Dallin depicts Don Quixote, mounted on his bony steed, Rozinante, and clothed in full armor.

About the Artist

Cyrus Dallin was born in Springville, Utah, along the edge of the Wasatch Mountains. When he was eighteen, Dallin traveled to Boston to begin his art studies. Later he studied sculpture in Paris for two years and then moved back to America and lived in Massachusetts. Dallin is best-known for his sculptures of historic figures and Native Americans.

Things to Consider

Compare the style of Dallin's sculpture with the style of Da Winnah! What do the differing styles indicate about the two artists' intentions, about the different societies?

Don Quixote was written as a parody of romantic chivalry, but is now seen as a tale depicting conflict between noble idealism and unfeeling practicality. Based on the sculpture, what is Dallin's view of Don Quixote?

For more information visit www.sma.nebo.edu.

GalleryCard submitted by Sharon Gray, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah.