Alfred Sisley

Picq-Véron, Ermont-Eaubonne
Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired from the above on June 25, 1892)
H. Vever, Paris (acquired from the above on January 17, 1893 and sold: Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, February 1-2, 1897, lot 104)
Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired at the above sale)
Longuet, Paris (acquired from the above on September 11, 1920)
Jacques Guggenheim, Zurich (acquired in 1951)
Mrs. Jacques Guggenheim, Zurich (by descent from the above and sold by the estate: Christie's, London, June 25, 1984, lot 13A)
Private Collection, Los Angeles (acquired at the above sale and sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 11, 1987, lot 14)
Acquired at the above sale

Paris, Durand-Ruel, Sisley, 1914, no. 37

François Daulte, Alfred Sisley, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, Lausanne, 1959, no. 643, illustrated n.p. 

This work is in very good condition. The canvas has been lined with a non-wax adhesive. The stretcher is recent. The paint layer is very well textured and unaffected by the lining. Under UV, the only restoration is in the base of the tree to the left of the path, where a small group of paint losses has occurred. Otherwise, it is only some frame abrasion that has received retouching.
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.

Sous-bois is a glorious expression of Sisley’s sensitivity to the most subtle effects of light and shadow. The scene depicts the charming rural landscape near the town of the Moret-sur-Loing, where he would complete some of the most successful works of his career. The rays of the sun find their way through the dense foliage to draw the viewer's eye toward each highly textured mark of the artist's brush.

William R. Johnston has rightly placed importance on the fact that a number of Sisley’s works from this period have titles which show that "Sisley wanted to capture the ephemeral effects of weather and time as much as describe the more physical aspects of the landscape," reminding us how Sisley "frequently returned to the same site to explore the visual potential of a particular scene under different temporal and seasonal conditions" (William R. Johnston in Alfred Sisley (exhibition catalogue), Royal Academy, London, 1992, p. 190).

The dappled sunlight and inviting path into the woods seen in the present work reflect Sisley’s happiness living and working in this pastoral landscape, and indeed he decided to stay in the Moret area for almost twenty years, finding endless new sources of inspiration there until his death in 1899. While Sisley did paint many views of Moret's charming waterside townscape, the present work shows us a highly modern and Impressionist view that harkens back to a long tradition of woodland interiors, starting with Dutch seventeenth-century artists like Alexander Keirincx, moving through the Barbizon artists who painted en plein air in the forest of Fontainebleau to the Realist works of Gustave Courbet, who imbued landscapes and wildlife with a powerful urgency, and continuing on to the mysterious and absorbing forest views by Gustav Klimt (see figs. 1, 2 & 3). The primacy of nature takes hold of the viewer in each of these very different works; the trees take on a powerful quality and the way that light interacts with nature's abundence leaves man as no more than an insignificant afterthought. Sisley embraces the absorbing power of nature in the present work, allowing himself and the viewer to feel enveloped by the lush surrounding.