Kythira  

"There lies, according to the legend, somewhere in this world, an island called Cythera, where the heaven is ever blue and the roses ever bloom. Throughout the day, the island lies in repose like a sleeping beauty; but towards evening, when the earth is enveloped in silence, a busy activity begins in Cythera. Then cupids begin their services and make ready the boats to carry over the pilgrims who await there on the shore. These are young men and beautiful women, clad not in brown cowls but in silk and velvet, with flower-wreathed shepherds’ staves in their hands. When they have entered the boat and approach the enchanted island, all the world is forgotten. A soft, sensual atmosphere caresses them; the roses waft perfume and the doves coo. The marble statue of Aphrodite gleams in the green foliage, and with beating hearts they sink at the feet of the goddess. Such a picture is the glittering title-page of the art of the eighteenth century."--The History of Painting: From the Fourth to the Early Nineteenth Century (1893/94) by Richard Muther