Alfred Sisley

Paul Aubry, Paris (sold: Galeries Georges Petit, Paris, Vente P. Aubry, 10th May 1897, lot 29)

Durand-Ruel, Paris (purchased at the above sale)

Galerie Paul Cassirer, Berlin

Galerie Caspari, Munich (acquired from the above in April 1917)

E. K. Königs, Hamburg (acquired from the above in 1932)

Kunstsalon Abels, Cologne (acquired from the widow of the above through Galerie Heuser, Hamburg in 1952)

Dr. Curtius, Krefeld (acquired from the above in October 1952)

Otto Wolff von Amerongen, Cologne

Thence by descent to the present owner

Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Exposition de tableaux de A. Sisley, 1902, no. 18 (titled Gelée blanche)

Wuppertal, Von der Heydt-Museum, Alfred Sisley - der wahre Impressionist, 2011-12, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

François Daulte, Alfred Sisley. Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, 1959, no. 755, illustrated

The canvas is unlined. There is a very small repaired tear, with some associated retouching, towards the upper left edge, as well as three very fine lines of retouching to the craquelure in the upper left, and a few small spots of retouching at the extreme top edge, visible under ultra-violet light. Apart from a slight horizontal stretcher mark running along the top edge and some stable craquelure, mainly in the sky, this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although slightly richer and more vibrant in the original.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Chemin à l'entrée d'un bois is emblematic of the so-called ‘classic’ Impressionist technique that Sisley developed in the 1870s and continued to use throughout his career. With textured impasto and brevity of form, Sisley conveys the windswept dynamism of a summer day in Chemin, a rural haven southeast of Paris. The poet Stéphane Mallarmé wrote the following about Sisley's talent for capturing the nuances of the land in his pictures: ‘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,' in The Art Monthly Review, 1876, quoted in Richard Shone, Sisley, New York, 1992, pp. 118 & 122).

For Sisley, the element of the sky within a landscape was of utmost importance and such an emphasis pervades Chemin à l'entrée d'un bois. Sisley wrote to 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), and the shapes of clouds give movement to a picture. What is more beautiful indeed than the summer sky, with its wispy clouds idly floating across the blue? What movement and grace! Don't you agree? They are like waves on the sea; one is uplifted and carried away’ (quoted in Sisley (exhibition catalogue), Wildenstein & Co., New York, 1966, n.p.).