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The innkeeper tells don Quixote that he himself in his younger days had followed the same honourable calling of "chivalry", roaming in quest of adventures in various parts of the world, among others the Curing-grounds of Malaga, the Isles of Riaran, the Precinct of Seville, the Little Market of Segovia, the Olivera of Valencia, the Rondilla of Granada, the Strand of San Lucar, the Colt of Cordova, the Taverns of Toledo, and divers other quarters,
where he had proved the nimbleness of his feet and the lightness of
his fingers, doing many wrongs, cheating many widows, ruining maids
and swindling minors, and, in short, bringing himself under the notice
of almost every tribunal and court of justice in Spain; until at
last he had retired to this castle of his, where he was living upon
his property and upon that of others.
Obviously, this speech full of irony refers to the innkeeper's life as a rogue (pícaro); the scenes included in the illustration refer to details from that speech.
Very original image.
Great interest in representing real Spanish characters and accurate period setting, clothes and furniture; realistic and picturesque.
Jiménez Aranda's drawing skill is masterly; remarkable use of light and shadow.
2 - "Representa en dos láminas de género fantástico las malandanzas que á título de hazañas caballerescas refiere el socarrón del ventero á su huésped, para segurarse en el papel que éste, en su locura, le da de alcaide de la soñada fortaleza: primero, las aprovechadas mocedades, las truanerías en la Caleta de Málaga, y su fin en el banquillo de los acusados..." (José Ramón Mélida: “Don José Jiménez Aranda y su "Quijote"", vol. I TEXTO, p. XXXV-XXXVI).