Which play may have inspired Antoine Watteau’s Pilgrimage to Cythera?

There are two primary hypotheses regarding the theatrical inspiration for Antoine Watteau’s Pilgrimage to Cythera:

• Les Trois Cousines: One hypothesis suggests the theme was inspired by the 1700 prose play Les Trois Cousines by Florent Dancourt. In the finale of this work, a group of country youths disguised as pilgrims of love prepare to embark on a voyage to the island of Cythera.12
• La Vénitienne: Because the Dancourt play is parodistic in nature, many scholars find it more probable that Watteau was inspired by the 1705 opéra-ballet La Vénitienne by Houdar de la Motte. This work is considered a more likely source because it incorporates both the pilgrims of Cythera and the stock characters of the commedia dell’arte—the two major themes that Watteau explored throughout his career.1