'Don Quixote: A Madman's Tale, a Tale worth laughing at'

After having honored Jean Genet, Jean Giono and Gustave Flaubert,  MUCEM (the Museum of European Civilisations and the Mediterranean) continues its series of literary exhibitions by celebrating a hero born in Spain, who has spread worldwide to the point of becoming a mythical figure: Don Quixote.

In 1605, Miguel de Cervantes created a character who believes himself a knight-errant in a book where he is little more than an antihero. Like an old man returned to childhood, he acts out the tales born of his imagination both “for real” and “for fun”. With his loyal Sancho by his side, he sets out to rescue the oppressed who never called for help and princesses no one else can see. One declaims lofty, antiquated speeches, the other answers with endless chains of proverbs. Together they ride into parodic battles, while the author revels in clever reflections on fiction and on himself. 

And yet, over the span of four centuries, the tremors of this laughter, whether mischievous or dizzying, have absorbed the disquiet of modernity: the romantic pursuit of an impossible ideal, metaphysical solitude, the shifting play of illusion and disillusion, and the quiet heroism of failure. In contrast, the exhibition offers an original approach by returning to the comic, unruly and popular dimensions of the work, as well as to its boundless presence across the most diverse artistic forms and within everyday culture.

Quentin Blake is among many artists over the course of the past 400 years who have realised Cervantes' vision, through illustration, sculpture, and popular culture.  Four of Quentin's illustrations from the Folio Society's edition of the book, published in 1995, sit alongside works by creators from Gustav Dore to Francisco de Goya, Orson Welles to Terry Gilliam.

The exhibition is open daily from 15 October 2025 - 30 March 2026.  Find out more, and how to book tickets, at https://mucem.org/en/expositions/don-quixote/