Five of the six engravings illustrate episodes from Part I of
Don Quixote; the sixth, "Sancho's
Feast," refers to an episode in Part II, Chapter 47. In
"Don Quixote releases the Galley Slaves,"
(on the left)
Hogarth carefully follows the novel in his protrayal of the episode (Part I, Chapter 22).
Don Quixote
has just knocked one of the guards to the ground, who lies on his back with his musket partially
visible to the right. Sancho Panza intervenes to help release the thief
Ginés de Pasamonte from his
chains as the other prisoners struggle to free themselves. Ginés
will soon seize the firearm and threaten the fleeing guards as well as
Don Quixote and Sancho before escaping into
the nearby
forests. Vanderbank (on the right) illustrates the episode before the galley slaves are freed, portraying a relatively static scene before the violence erupts.
