

WORKS FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE COLLECTION, SOLD IN PART TO BENEFIT TWO NOT-FOR-PROFIT INSTITUTIONS IN THE FIELDS OF SCIENCE AND MUSIC
Moret-sur-Loing suited Sisley’s artistic inclinations and meditative, pure style of landscape Impressionism; a sparsely populated village along the poplar-lined Loing and Seine rivers with a scattering of neo-Gothic architecture and a full range of seasons, Moret-sur-Loing provided Sisley with a wealth of natural variety to explore through painting (see fig. 1). Reflecting on the inspiration he draws from the French village, Sisley wrote: “It is in Moret, amid this dense nature, with its tall poplars and the beautiful transparent, changing waters of the Loing…that my art has undoubtedly developed most…I will never really leave this place that is so picturesque” (Letter from Alfred Sisley to Adolphe Tavernier, January 9, 1892). The present work, with the light hitting the rising waters of the Loing, captures this spirit via a calm, restrained meditation on light and water. Sisley “adhered throughout his career to the style of divided light and color, momentary effects of illumination, and an acute responsiveness to the atmosphere that are signature aspects of Impressionism. He dutifully painted en plein air in all manner of weather… in exhaustive detail, in all seasons, and under everchanging skies. On occasion he might address nature’s unpredictability… but there are few theatrics in this circumscribed art, simply an unwavering devotion to his beloved landscapes” (P.C. Sutton & B. Monnier, Alfred Sisley: Impressionist Master (exhibition catalogue), Greenwich, Connecticut, 2017, p. 18).