View of Moorea (Tahiti)

John Cleveley (1747-86)
Plate 3: Vue de L’Ile Maréa une des Iles des Amis dans La Mer du Sud (A View of Moorea)
Paper size: approx. 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches; Frame size: 31 1/4 x 37 inches
Paris, ca. 1789

Just after his visit to Matavai Bay, Cook’s group journeyed to a different part of Tahiti, Moorea. A bustling harbor, filled with many native boats as well as Cook’s fleet, its landscape is portrayed as distinctly different from that of Matavai. Extremely jagged mountains rise on the horizon, dominating the scene. Again, the natives and the Europeans appear to mingle with perfect ease, with no indication that this must have been one of the first meetings of the two cultures.