The Embarkation for Cythera, Jean-Antoine Watteau
Jean-Antoine Watteau
The Embarkation for Cythera
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Different version

Jean-Antoine Watteau: Einschiffung nach Kythera (2. Fassung), 1717, Öl auf Leinwand, 129 × 194 cm, Inv. Nr. 8525, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Jean-Antoine Watteau: Einschiffung nach Kythera (3. Fassung), 1718, Öl auf Leinwand, 130 × 192 cm, Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin

Jean-Antoine Watteau

The Embarkation for Cythera, ca. 1709 – 1710


Dimensions
45.5 x 56 cm
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Inventory Number
2150
Acquisition
Acquired in 1982 with means provided by Städel Museum, the State of Hesse, the city of Frankfurt am Main and Städelscher Museums-Verein e.V., joint property with Städelscher Museums-Verein e.V.
Status
On display, 2nd upper level, Old Masters, room 17

Texts

About the Work

It was Watteau, the painter of the French Rococo’s ‘fêtes galantes’, who executed this work. Etchings record the contemporary title as ‘Ile de Cythère’ (Island of Cythera). Greek mythology’s island of love is visible in the background, which is populated by innumerable cupids. On our side of the water, a company of young ladies and gentlemen in festive attire has gathered to board the gondola and head for the isle of love. The luminous colours testify to the influence Venetian painting had on Watteau.

Audio & Video

  • Basic information
    01:16
  • Focus on cultural history
    01:31
  • Highlights of the Städel Collection
    01:42
  • Exhibition “RENOIR. ROCOCO REVIVAL” (2022)
    01:40
  • Kunst|Stück – Jean-Antoine Watteau: Die Einschiffung nach Kythera
    Sammlungshighlights des Städel Museums in unterhaltsamen und informativen Filmen – das sind die Kunst|Stücke. Entdecken Sie spannende Details zu Kunstwerken aus ungewöhnlichen Blickwinkeln in unter zwei Minuten. Jean-Antoine Watteau: Die Einschiffung nach Kythera (um 1709-10), Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Gemeinsames Eigentum mit dem Städelschen Museums-Verein e.V. https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/de/werk/die-einschiffung-nach-kythera#yt

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
The Embarkation for Cythera
Painter
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Material
Technique

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Gemeinsames Eigentum mit dem Städelschen Museums-Verein e.V.
Picture Copyright
Public Domain
Acquisition
Acquired in 1982 with means provided by Städel Museum, the State of Hesse, the city of Frankfurt am Main and Städelscher Museums-Verein e.V., joint property with Städelscher Museums-Verein e.V.

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre
Main Motif
Associated Persons and Institutions
Illustrated Passage
  • Florence Dancourt: Die drei Cousinen, Lustspiel, Uraufführung 1700 in Paris

Iconclass

Primary
  • 33C941 embarkation for Cythera
  • 11Q62 pilgrimage, pilgrim(s) under way
  • 25HH landscapes - HH - ideal landscapes
  • 92D1916 cupids: 'amores', 'amoretti', 'putti'
Secondary
  • 46AA63 meeting, assembly - AA - in the open air
  • 33C relations between the sexes

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
...
unbek. Slg., England, spätestens seit 1725
...
Thomas Walker, Wimbledon Heath
vererbt an Stephen Skynner, 1748
im Erbgang an seine Enkelin Emma Harvey, Rolls Park, Essex
an ihren Sohn Eliab Harvey, Rolls Park, Essex
an seine Tochter Maria Tower
an ihre Tochter "Mrs. William Tower", d`Upp Hall, Broughing-Ware
an ihre Tochter Edward Goulburn
E. H. Goulburn
Nachlass E.H. Goulburn, 1928
Verst. Christie's, London, 18. Dezember 1980 (Los-Nr. 97) [zurückgezogen]
Verst. Christie's, New York an Maurice Segoura Gallery, 11. Dezember 1981 (Los-Nr. 6)
erworben mit Mitteln des Städel Museums, des Landes Hessen, der Stadt Frankfurt am Main und des Städelschen Museums-Vereins e.V., der aus diesem Anlass eine Spendenaktion durchführte, 1982.

Information

Since 2001, the Städel Museum has systematically been researching the provenance of all objects that were acquired during the National Socialist period, or that changed owners or could have changed owners during those years. The basis for this research is the “Washington Declaration”, also known as the “Washington Conference Principles”, formulated at the 1998 “Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets” and the subsequent “Joint Declaration”.

The provenance information is based on the sources researched at the time they were published digitally. However, this information can change at any time when new sources are discovered. Provenance research is therefore a continuous process and one that is updated at regular intervals.

Ideally, the provenance information documents an object’s origins from the time it was created until the date when it found its way into the collection. It contains the following details, provided they are known:

  • the type of acquisition and/or the way the object changed hands
  • the owner's name and place of residence
  • the date on which it changed hands

The successive ownership records are separated from each other by a semicolon.

Gaps in the record of a provenance are indicated by the placeholder “…”. Unsupported information is listed in square brackets.

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Last update

25.04.2024