Where Is Apollo? Theophany and Ur-Ekphrasis in Book Illustrations of Don Quixote’s First Sally

Whereas ekphrasis refers to narratives that describe objects or works of visual art, ur-ekphrasis denotes descriptions expressed by a literary character. In part one, chapter 2 of Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote of la Mancha (1605), Don Quixote uses theophany—the invocation of ancient deities—and ur-ekphrasis to call on Apollo, Aurora, and poets to preside over his first sally. This invocation has inspired select artists to re-envision Don Quixote’s theophanic thoughts over the ensuing centuries. Stemming from a holistic archival study of book illustrations of the knight’s first sally, this article explores the reciprocal nature of ekphrasis, using “illustrative didactic ekphrasis” to analyze eight salient compositions that reduplicate, to various degrees, the knight’s invocation.