Alfred Sisley

Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris (and sold: Moore's Art Gallery, New York, December 2, 1887)
Theodore Haviland, Boston (acquired at the above sale)
Thence by descent (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 9, 2001, lot 331)
Acquired at the above sale

Alfred Sisley (exhibition catalogue), Royal Academy of Arts, London; Musée d'Orsay, Paris; The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, 1992, no. 43, illustrated p. 58

This painting is in beautiful, if not perfect, condition. The canvas has never been removed from its original stretcher, and although it has slightly relaxed, it should certainly stay as it is. The paint layer is probably slightly dirty, but not noticeably so. There are no retouches that are apparent. This is a work in almost perfect condition and should be hung as is. The above condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
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.

After ceasing to exhibit at the Salon in 1877, Sisley's art of the following years shows a considerable change in style. Freed from the constraints of the existing canon, his compositions became more complex, with less emphasis on recession and perspective, and the artist shifted his focus to more fully explore the expressive power of his brushstrokes. The present work is a remarkable example of this newly found spontaneity in application of paint: the artist builds his composition by placing layers of pigment on top of each other, applied in quick brushstrokes in varying directions, and in this way creates a richly textured surface saturated with color.

Sisley's paintings of the 1880s are paid scant attention in the early histories of the Impressionist movement.  Recently this period has undergone a significant critical reappraisal.  The rich color, complex brushwork, and firmness of composition evident in works such as Vieille chaumière aux Sablons show Sisley to be a quintessential Impressionist artist, well apprised of the developments in the work of his fellow Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists. He was particularly fascinated by the beauty of the French river valleys, and took delight in painting the intersections of natural and humble human life there, capturing the effects of the season, weather and time of day on the countryside, and experimenting with the effects of light and color.

Sylvie Patin, writing at the time of the groundbreaking Sisley retrospective of 1992, noted that "Sisley's art did not stand still during his last two decades, and modifications to his technique, palette and approach to subject-matter were certainly introduced ... he realized the full potential of using a specific type of brushstroke and quality of paint to identify the mood of a landscape, be it thin, flat strokes of dry, almost chalky paint to convey a becalmed, crisp winter day, or bolder, more fully laden strokes of pigment set down with more oil to capture the shimmering heat of a mid-summer day ... His range of tonalities came to be centered more consistently on an axis of green and lilac, such as is also found in the contemporary work of Guillaumin, Toulouse-Lautrec and the Belgian Neo-Impressionists" (Sylvie Patin, "Veneux-Nadon and Moret-sur-Loing:  1880-1899," Alfred Sisley (exhibition catalogue), Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1992, p. 183).

The poet Mallarmé wrote the following about Sisley's talent for capturing the nuances of the land in his pictures from the late 19th Century: "Sisley seizes the passing moments of the day; watches a fugitive cloud and seems to paint it in its flight; on his canvas the live air moves and the leaves yet thrill and tremble.  He loves best to paint them in spring ...or when red and gold and russet-green the last few fall in autumn; for then space and light are one, and the breeze stirring the foliage prevents it from becoming an opaque mass, too heavy for such an impression of mobility and life" (S. Mallarmé, 'The Impressionists and Edouard Manet,' The Art Monthly Review, 1876, translated from the French and reprinted in R. Shone, Sisley, New York, 1992, pp. 118-122).

Fig. 1  Alfred Sisley, Sahurs Meadows in Morning Sun, 1894, oil on canvas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York