17th Century Baroque Painted 6 Fold Screen | Don Quixote

An exceptional late 17th-century Anglo-Dutch painted screen, composed of six hinged panels, richly decorated in oil paint on canvas on board. The scene depicts a theatrical and allegorical moment from Cervantes’ Don Quixote: the self-fashioned knight is ceremonially dubbed by his loyal companion Sancho Panza, surrounded by onlookers, in a dreamlike landscape at dusk.

Provenance: Property of a Lady, London, since 1974
Dutch, circa 1680, 1700, 1710

Total Width (Flat): 300 cms (118 ins)
Each Panel: 50 cms (19.7 ins)
Height: 243 cms (95.6 ins)

To the left, a crumbling classical temple evokes the romanticised ruin of past ideals—a visual metaphor for Quixote’s weary but unwavering journey through illusion and valor. To the right, an Italianate building, crowned with a gently waving banner, symbolises sanctuary, structure, and the promise of home. At the heart of the composition, a child bearing a single candle illuminates the scene with symbolic clarity—signifying both the fleeting brightness of the present moment and the hopeful light of imagined futures.

The entire composition is framed by broad, scrolling acanthus leaves that wrap around architectural columns, bordered with gilded ornament. A classical mask, centrally placed above the scene, lends the piece a theatrical flourish, echoing the screen’s operatic mood and narrative drama