Nerval, Watteau et le Pèlerinage à L’Île de Cythère

Abstract

It is a well-known fact that Gerard de Nerval showed a great interest in Jean Antoine Watteau, and especially in the picture of “Le Pelerinage a l’ile de Cythere”. This picture evokes the nostalgia for a lost world where the arcadian happiness pervaded: that’s also the subject of the novel Sylvie . Nerval, who situates his Arcadia in the Valois, claims to be the heir of Watteau. This article endeavours to examine the connection between Nerval and Watteau, a relationship which does not only concerns Sylvie , but also Les Faux Saulniers and Voyage en Orient .