WATTEAU, Jean-Antoine
(b. 1684, Valenciennes, d. 1721, Nogent-sur-Marne)

Pilgrimage to Cythera

1718-20
Oil on canvas, 129 x 194 cm
Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin

This painting is the artist's restatement of his 'morceau de réception' for the Académie Royale (Musée du Louvre, Paris). This canvas, which is slightly later in date than the Louvre's, is not a replica, as it has many original features. Though identical in size, each canvas has its distinct and distinctive qualities.

The statue of Venus, seen at right in this painting, is also to be found in the Festival of Love (Gemäldegalerie, Dresden). The sculpture in the Berlin picture is integrated into the overall composition and seems smaller as a whole; it appears curiously isolated and out of proportion in the Dresden painting.




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