The shepherd Grisóstomo and the shepherdess Marcela

Oil on canvas. Valero Iriarte (c.1680- c.1744).

The painting is inspired by the story told in Chapters XIII and XIV of the first part of Don Quixote where the details of the burial are given and the reasoning of the shepherdess Marcela to prove she is innocent of the accusations made against her.Salto de línea In the middle of a leafy scene Don Quixote and Sancho on horseback watch the burial of the unfortunate shepherd Grisóstomo whose body is being laid in the tomb by various shepherds, one of whom is holding some of the writings the dead man dedicated to his elusive love Marcela.Salto de línea “Let no man, cried he, of what quality or condition soever, presume to follow the fair Marcella, under the penalty of incurring my furious displeasure. She has made it appear, by undeniable reasons, that she was not guilty of Chrysostome´s death; and has positively declared her firm resolution never to condescend to the desires of any of her admirers: for which reason, instead of being importuned and persecuted, she ought to be esteemed and honoured by all good men, as being perhaps the only woman in the world that ever lived with such a virtuous reservedness.”Salto de línea