Alfred Sisley

Sale: Paris, December 5, 1901, lot 28
Georges Petit, Paris (acquired at the above sale)
Dr. George Viau, Paris (and sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, December 11, 1942, lot 120)
Private Collection

Paris, Galerie d'Art Braun, Sisley, 1933, no. 23

François Daulte, Alfred Sisley, Catalogue raisonné de l' oeuvre peint, Lausanne, 1959, no. 696, illustrated

Canvas is not lined. Surface retains a rich and textured imapsto. Faint horizontal stretcher bar mark three inches below upper edge. Pinhead size loss at center of top edge. Under UV light: nailhead sizes spots of inpainting in extreme upper corners, as well as a 1 cm wide area of inpainting in the gable of the building at left to address a possible small repaired tear. Some minor abrasion to extreme edges from prior frame, including a hairline of gold leaf residue at left half of upper edge. Otherwise fine, work is in good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In 1889, one year after the present work was painted, Sisley settled in Moret-sur-Loing, where he had stayed several times in the early 1880s. During the ensuing years he painted a number of landscapes from different vantage points along the semi-canalised river Loing, and Les Moulins de Moret, gelée blanche, effet du soir depicts the mills and cottages on its gentle banks.

Richard Stone writes that the appeal held for the artist "rested not so much on what was found inside the town but on the view it presented from across the Loing. Old flour and tanning mills clustered along the bridge; the river, scattered with tiny islands, seemed more like a moat protecting the houses and terraced gardens that, on either side of the sturdy Porte de Bourgogne, in turn defended the pinnacled tower of the church. Add to this the tree-lined walks along the river, the continuous sound of water from the weir and the great wheels of the mills, the houseboats and fishermen, and there was, as every guidebook exclaimed, 'a captivating picture,' a sight 'worthy of the brush''' (R. Stone, Sisley, London, 1992, p. 159).

This setting provided the artist with a new creative impetus and he started working with fresh energy. He explored the beauty of the area, and took delight in painting this environment, trying to capture the effects of season, weather and time of day on the countryside, and experimenting with the effects of light and color. The beautifully painted sky that occupies a large section of the composition embodies the importance that the artist attached to this part of the landscape, as explained in a letter to his friend, the art critic Adolphe Tavernier: "The sky is not simply a background; its planes give depth (for the sky has planes, as well as solid ground" (quoted in Sisley (exhibition catalogue), Wildenstein & Co., New York, 1966, n.p.).