I was really fascinated by our discussion of the new illustrations of Don Quixote done by Eko. His illustrations were so unique and unlike any of the other illustrations we saw that all, in some way or another, resembled each other. Even in class today when we tried to come up with our own covers, even though they were all different in composition, colors, etc. there were some common themes throughout such as that of the old man, windmill, etc. Eko’s illustrations alone are eerily different and purposely reimaged in a completely different way. This prompted me to learn a little more; after some digging I found this interview of his in regards to his Don Quixote illustrations: http://www.restlessbooks.com/blog/2015/5/26/reimagining-don-quixote-an-interview-with-the-artist-and-the-publisher.

I would highly recommend reading the interview if you’re interested! It was fascinating to learn about the illustration from the perspective of the artist, to see what he intended and compare it to our own interpretations. The hand, for example, is actually symbolic of Cervantes’ own hand that he lost off at war. So Eko was actually placing Cervantes straight into the illustration of Don Quixote; a very interesting choice indeed. We had never discussed explicitly in class considerations of Cervantes himself in the illustration but had nonetheless come up with meanings and interpretations behind the hand. It’s always fascinating to see how a different audience can read illustrations in very different ways, no matter how purposeful the original illustration.