The artist Louis-Francois Cassas in Cyprus in the Spring of 1785

Before exploring the land of Aphrodite , Cassas, made numerous journeys in northern Europe , in Italy , in Istria , in Dalmatia , and in Sicily . His two periods of stay in Cyprus (from 9 th to 22 nd February and from 6 th to 30 th April), are among the best documented of his journey in the Ottoman Empire in 1784-85, due in particular to correspondence from the consul in Larnaca, Benoit Astier, and completed by two letters from the artist: one addressed to the sponsor of his voyage, the French Ambassador to Turkey, and the other to his friend Desfriches which inform us of the precise dates of his arrival and departure in this area of the commercial ports of the Levant, as well as the places he visited. As for the Cyprus portfolio, although certainly missing a few works, we can consider it to have been largely reconstituted. From the 13 illustrations initially intended for the Voyage Pittoresque (Picturesque Journey) 11 works on paper, have been located, giving Philippe Delord a starting point for his researches into the subjects that attracted his predecessor in Spring 1785. Nicosia , Larnaca, Famagusta , Kyrenia, Bellapais, Saint Hilarion, Amathonte and Idalion were the locations that appealed to Cassas and the travel writers who came before him, such as the Italian, Giovanni Mariti.

In February, putting in to port at Cyprus was only because of bad weather conditions, as had also happened in Smyrna the previous November, because the artist's objective had been to skirt the coast of Syria , Phoenicia , Palestine and Egypt . This is why, during this first stay, given the uncertainties about his departure, and his impatience to discover Alexandria , Cassas only left the corvette La Poulette for one day in answer to an invitation by the consul who gave him for the ambassador's collection a head and a frog in marble found during excavations in Larnaca. From the ship anchored in the bay, the artist observed the port activity, the windmills, the residences of the Dutch, English, French and Venetian consuls, Stavrovouni and the salt lakes.

It was only during the second journey that he discovered the island and made his sketches, including the panorama of this area of the commercial ports of the Levant . The situation was hardly favourable for visiting Cyprus , however. The arrival of a new governor, Aly Alga, in Nicosia , provoked such a rebellion of Turks in the Karpas area that the consul feared an uprising similar to the one of 1765. There was general discontent and the old governor, Hadgy Baky, was missed even by the bishops. This is probably the explanation for the relatively small output of drawings produced by Cassas out of this itinerary, despite all the prolific advice given by Bernard Astier before his departure. Having spent nearly thirty years at post in this area he could hardly have been a better guide.

Essentially architectural, Cassas's views naturally give priority to the French religious monuments of the Lusignans, Kings of Cyprus from 1192 to 1489. But the cathedrals of Saint Sophia in Nicosia and Saint Nicholas in Famagusta, scenes of royal coronations and adorned with minarets since 1571, do not tower over these island landscapes in the way that the artist gave a particular attention to the historic or Islamic architecture in other regions. Today these few works on paper amount to the first faithful pictorial representations of these Cypriot views so many times celebrated in XIX century by artists and writers. It is with much emotion that we rediscover two centuries later the ruins of the abbey of Bellapais, place of quietude, retreat and serenity, still encircled by a wide belt of olive trees, citrus and cypresses. Even if some pieces of wall have disappeared for ever, nothing seems to have moved since the XVIII century. The silent ruins of the gothic abbey of the Premontres , clothed by the mountains, offer themselves still to the contemplations of the traveler, as the drawings of Philippe Delord bear witness. In the course of his journey Cassas drew the landscape prolifically and made numerous accounts of monuments. Character studies and oriental costumes were produced on separate sheets of paper, in some cases coloured and developed in Rome after 1787 where he enlivened his watercolours according to the dictates of his imagination. The cloister of the abbey, one of the only examples of the flamboyant baroque in Cyprus, thus served as a backdrop for the group of Greek Cypriot musicians and dancers of whom water colourist Francois Marie Rosset, who passed through the island in August 1781, gave us another variant.

Philippe Delord's apt choice in rediscovering the viewpoints of Cassas, as previously with the Alexandria sketchbook, is the reason for the exhibition held at the Museum of Tours on the watercolours of Bellapais. For the first time, the works of the two traveling artists exploring the same pictorial themes will be seen alongside each other.

In the historic context of Cyprus in 2004, it falls to Phillippe Delord to reunite or reconcile in his sketchbooks the wanderings of an artist along the various unimpeded routes of the island. From the mosque of Famagusta to the port of Kyrenia, from the historic ruins of Paphos to the markets of Nicosia, from the mountains and cedar forests of Troodos to the Akamas region landscapes, according to his lights, he records in watercolour, pencil or pen, all the diversity of this land, situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean civilizations, and at the origin of its rich heritage.

Annie Gilet
Curator
Museum of Fine Arts of Tours, France