By the time they enter college, most students have already read Miguel de Cervantes’ “Don Quijote de la Mancha.” However, few of them probably realize that in following the windmill-fighting adventures of the chivalrous, self-proclaimed knight and his squire Sancho they are reading the second most published book in the world, following only the Bible.
This year marks the 400th anniversary since the book was published in 1605. Coincidentally, Meadows Museum is currently celebrating 40 years of entertaining the Dallas art-loving community with its assemblage of art.
Victoria Winkleman, Public Information Officer of the Meadows School of Arts, says that in commemoration of this event and Spanish art, the Meadows Museum is launching a celebratory string of exhibitions. The most important exhibit features original tapestries that tell the story of Don Quijote and are from the Royal Court of Spain.
“We are very excited about this particular exhibit,” she said, adding that the duration of this line of exhibits will last a year and a half, until February 2007.
“Don Quijote has not been only literarily important, but it has also enlightened many other spheres of creativity from artists to cinema directors. The tapestries themselves are testimony of how much the book influenced the Spanish King Phillip V,” Museum Director Dr. Mark Roglan said.
All the tapestries represent episodes of Don Quijote’s adventures and were commissioned by King Phillip V, who founded the Real Fabrica de Tapices to weave the tapestries that told the story of his favorite book.
Salvador Salort, senior curator of the Meadows Museum, also points out that the effect of the tapestries will be “staggering” considering their large size and detailed construction.
The thing that makes this display so unique, Dr. Roglan notes, is the fact that the Meadows Museum is the first and only museum outside of Spain to ever hosted the entire series of these tapestries.
“Previously only a few of the 19 were exhibited in the U. S.,” adds Salvador Salort.
This is a huge honor for the museum, considering that most of the tapestries are usually kept year-round in the Spanish Royal Palace in Madrid or in other royal residences. The museum’s good relations with the Sociedad Estatal para la Accion Cultural Exterior, as well as with the Spanish Royal Art Keepers, is what makes this otherwise exclusive collection available to the American public for the first time.
The exhibit, entitled “Weaving the Legends of Don Quijote,” will run Sept. 15 to Nov. 13. It is only one of 10 exhibits shown this season, which, along with celebrating the Museum’s 40th anniversary, will be dedicated to honoring different spectrums of Spanish art, from literature to haute couture fashion.
