The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 1, 2023

Don Quixote and the Chariot of Death

1935

André Masson

(French, 1896–1987)

France, 20th century

Oil on canvas

Framed: 113.3 x 141.6 x 5.8 cm (44 5/8 x 55 3/4 x 2 5/16 in.); Unframed: 98 x 124.5 cm (38 9/16 x 49 in.); Former: 113.3 x 141.7 x 4.4 cm (44 5/8 x 55 13/16 x 1 3/4 in.)

Anonymous Gift 1963.587

© 2008 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Location

225 German Expressionism & Surrealism

Description

A leading artist of the Surrealist movement, André Masson was strongly influenced by his close association with Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso. This painting depicts an episode from the novel Don Quixote by Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, in which the rash and delusional Don Quixote threatens to attack a troupe of traveling actors, who, having just performed a play, are still dressed in costumes representing Death, the Devil, and other characters. Anonymous Gift 1963.587

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signed lower left: "André Masson"

Provenance
1964-
Anonymous Gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland OH
Citations
Allen, John Jay, and Patricia S. Finch. Don Quijote en el arte y pensamiento de occidente. Madrid, Spain: Cátedra, 2004. Reproduced: p. 171
Masson, Guite, Martin Masson, and Catherine Loewer. André Masson: catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, 1918-1941. Vaumarcus: ArtAcatos, 2010. Reproduced: P. 223, no. 12
Exhibition history

Year in Review (1964). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1964-January 31, 1965).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1963.587