For 250 years Watteau’s great masterpiece, the Pilgrimage to Cythera, was
taken to depict the embarkation of pilgrims for the fabled Greek Island of
Love. Then in the 1960s the British art historian Michael Levey offered a new interpretation: the pilgrims were not embarking at all, but were already on Cythera, preparing to take their leave for home. This gave quite a different meaning to the painting. Not
all commentators, by any means, accepted Levey’s conclusion; fifty years later there is
still no scholarly consensus.
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| Pélerinage à l'île de Cythère. c. 1717 Musée du Louvre 129 x 194 cm |
The known facts concerning the painting are few. Watteau painted the work as his reception piece
for the Academy of Painting. He was provisionally accepted into the
Academy in July 1712 and, unusually, given a completely free hand in his choice of
subject for his reception piece. There are two versions of the picture,
the original in the Louvre, completed in August 1717, and a more finished
reworking, probably commissioned by Watteau’s friend and patron Jean de
Jullienne, now in the Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin. It is not known what
prompted Watteau to choose his subject, though a pilgrimage to Cythera was a well-know theme in Parisian theatre at the time; .It enters popular iconography in the first years of century – though only in handful of prints and theatrical illustrations. Watteau himself had painted an earlier version, usually dated to 1708 or 1709.
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| Embarkation for Cythera c.1718-9. Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin. 129 x 194 cm. |
The name of the painting
Any interpretation of the scene must first of all take account of the contemporary assumptions about the subject of the painting. Michael Levey pointed out that title “The Embarkation for
Cythera”, originated only with Tardieu’s engraving
for the Recueil Jullienne of c1733.
The Academy’s procès-verbal of 28th
August 1717, which presumably reports Watteau’s own deposition, states that the picture represented "The Pilgrimage to the Island of Cythera" (Le
pelerinage à l'isle de Cithère") This title is slightly more ambiguous since it theoretically allows for the possibility that the pilgrims are already ON the island.. The Academy's secretary in any case changed his mind, crossed out the title and replaced it with simply “une feste galante”.
None of this is very conclusive. It does not seem that likely that Jullienne, who know Watteau well and owned the second version of the painting, should have
so fundamentally misread the iconography. There are other illustrations showing embarkations, but the theme of leaving Cythera would have been entirely novel.
The setting
The main strength of Levey's thesis is his conclusion that the land to the right of the painting represents Cythera. The pilgrims are paired off and already seem bonded in love. Moreover, as Levey noted, the whole landscape is clearly
dedicated to love; there is a prominent term – a traditional boundary marker –
in the form of Venus; on its plinth are hung a bow and quiver of arrows, and a
pelt, in offering to love. The statue is garlanded with roses; freshly so, for the cupid-pilgrim who sits close by holds a rose in his hand. There are also convolvuluses which symbolise the lovers' bond. “All these are suggestions of a rite accomplished” (p.182) In the Berlin
version the erotic context is even more emphasised. The cupids
are multiplied; replacing the term is a sensuous statue of Venus confiscating Cupid's arrows Beneath it lie a coat of
armour, a shield and the hilt of a sword which has
been struck into the ground. Half hidden in the shadowsare a wineskin and a lyre. Thus love prevails over Mars, Bacchus and the arts. There are further suggestions of love consummated; the couple added at the right of the canvas seem lost in their amorous absorption: the man has discarded his staff and scrip and his partner taken off her cloak.
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Claude Duflos, after Bernard Picart, L'Isle de Cithère
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The impression that we are already in Cythera is reinforced by
comparison with another depiction of the island, engraved by Claude Duflos in about 1708, possibly after a design by Bernard Picart, (see Posner, p.187-8). This illustration would undoubtedly have been known to Watteau. The pilgrims are quite clearly on Cythera; the island's temple of Venus features prominently and a pair of lovers can be seen arriving in the distance by boat. The engraving provides likely prototypes for at least two of Watteau's
couples, the man helping a lady to her feet and the pair where the woman is holding a fan. Notice also the quiver in the tree which features
prominently among the accoutrements of Venus in the Berlin Watteau.
The identification of Watteau's landscape with Cythera is, however, by no means established. The landscape does not definitely suggest an island. Nor is there a temple to Venus. A boundary term may just as easily denote an embarkation point. The whole action takes place in the enchanted world of the fête galante and most of the imagery can be paralleled in other works by Watteau; the Venus statue for instance is the same one depicted in the painting Plaisirs d'amour.
The destination
The pilgrims ARE clearly leaving. The movement of the painting is dependent upon it. The amorous couples
wind down a hill, as if in a dance, to a ship rowed by two oarsmen and crowned by a flock of
cupids. The Berlin version reinforces theme of departure
by multiplying the cupids who orchestrate the movement, and by enlarged
and defined the ship.
The destination is not defined; certainly there is no sign of the architecture which signalled Cythera, such as the Temple of Venus, but merely "misty Claudian peaks" in the distance (Levey p.182). On the other hand, the destination is not in the real world either. The Louvre picture has the smallest hint of ramparts and towers which perhaps suggest an otherworldly goal.
Possible antecedents
It tells against Levey's argument that, whereas departure from Cythera is unknown in iconography, there are at least two known possible embarkations.
The
most telling is a drawing by from the
Homburger Collection (University of Harvard) by Watteau's one-time master and mentor Claude Gillot. The sketch is tentatively thought to depict the last scene of
the comedy, Les Trois Cousines by
Florent Dancourt which was first performed in 1700. (26 performances took place in all between Oct. 1700 and Feb.1701) The angle suggests that it was
sketched from a theatre box. The action of the play takes place in the Paris suburb of Créteil, which can be glimpsed through the arch on the right. In the finale the youth of the village dress as
pilgrims and gather on the shore in order to make the voyage to Cythera. The boat can be seen in the left of the drawing, crowded with passengers.
The other embarkation picture is a theatrical illustration painted earlier by Watteau himself. This picture
belonged to Jullienne and was engraved under the title L'île de Cythère. Again it is usually related to
Dancourt’s play, which was performed by the Comédie-Française in the Spring and
Summer of 1709. Charles de Tolnay and others, Levey included, have agreed that the pilgrims in this picture are setting out for
Cythera. The temple of Venus is can be seen in the background but there are no architectural embellishments in the foreground. The pilgrims stand hesitantly and are not yet paired off.
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| L'île de Cythère, c1709 Stadelsches Kunstinstitut Frankfurt |
Mood
The theme of departure implies a certain assumptions about the mood of the picture. Throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the
Pilgrimage to Cythera seems to have been regarded as simply a depiction of a
happy journey to a symbolic island of love. But to later romantic writers,
the idea of love took on a tragic air and the idea arose of a "melancholic
Watteau"; thus the Goncourts discerned an
“indefinable sadness” in the fêtes galantes. Modern commentators tended to accept this verdict. Charles de Tolnay writing in 1955 saw the
couples in the Pilgrimage moving through the stages of love, embarking to Cythera only to find
disillusionment: the season is autumn and the goal is lost in the
distant mists; love, like life itself, is necessarily transitory”(see
Posner, p.184) Levey’s view also emphasised the transitory nature of love. The lovers must rouse themselves from their self absorption. One pilgrim helps his partner to her feet. The woman in the central group looks back longingly as she is urged to depart. The movement of the picture “suggests the end rather than the beginning of a fête galante”.The partial cleaning of the
picture reassures us that the golden tones are not a matter of
discoloured varnish; the time is obviously evening and the setting sun gives
atmosphere to the whole scene:
"This is the reason why an air of transcience and sadness has so often
been detected...There is even a hint that one cannot leave the island, sans cesser de s'aimer” (Levey, p.185).
More recent interpreters, tend on the whole to reject this gloomy view as unhistorical. The golden
tones may indeed be the effect of age and are, in any case, less noticeable in the
Berlin picture, which is brighter and more highly finished. According to Posner, a melancholy mood is attractive to commentators mainly because as lends itself to possible metaphysical readings. It has no objective critical
value: ”imagined music exists only in the ear of the beholder” (p.184).
Was Watteau’s picture simply
incoherent?
This idea has been suggested by more than one recent
commentator. The scene is both an embarkation towards Cythera and a depiction of the Island of Love itself. It is emphasised that Watteau was more interested in the structure and movement of his composition than in any strict narrative meaning.(See the article by Le Coat) It is certainly likely that Watteau was interested primarily in the aesthetic coherence of his work. Moreover the fêtes galantes are intentionally difficult to read; the viewer, observing the interaction of lovers from the outside, cannot know their state of mind. There is an element of uncertainty - love can always miscarry.
But does it really seem likely that Watteau would have abandoned any compositional logic?
For my part, I think there seems nothing wrong with the idea that the painting simply shows an embarkation
for Cythera. The composition, with the boat to the left, echoes Watteau's earlier treatment of the theme. The ship in the Berlin version is strikingly like that of the Gillot sketch. Neither the landscape nor the behaviour of the couples goes beyond the familiar spaces and themes of other fêtes galantes. The lovers are roused from their reveries to move on to the next stage
of love. Their plans may still miscarry – note the
cupid at the left with his reversed arrow which may yet undo the
enchantment. At the centre a woman
looks back momentarily , perhaps in hesitation, perhaps
to reassure herself that her companions are following. The cupids, which proliferate in the Berlin
version, are keen to hurry the lovers on - they nudge them into action and swirl
over the ship pointing the way on. We do not see Cythera on the horizon. But perhaps, as mere observers, we cannot follow the pilgrims, even imaginatively, into the realms of love?
References
Donald Posner, Antoine Watteau (1984) p.182-95
Michael Levey, “The real theme of Watteau's Embarkation for Cythera.” The Burlington Magazine,1961, vol. 103, no. 698, pp. 180–5 [JStor article]
Gérard Le Coat, . “Le Pèlerinage à l'Isle de Cithère: un sujet « aussi galant qu'allégorique ».” RACAR: Revue d'Art Canadienne / Canadian Art Review, 1975. vol. 2(2) p. 9–23. [JStor article]
Dewey F. Mosby, "Claude Gillot's 'Embarkation for the Isle of Cythera' and its relationship to Watteau", Master Drawings 1974, 12(1): p.19-56 [JStor article]
