阿爾弗雷德．希斯里

保羅．奧布瑞，巴黎（賣出：溫特．P．奧布瑞，小喬治畫廊，巴黎，1897年5月10日，拍品編號30)
杜杭-胡埃，巴黎 （購自上述拍賣會）
保羅．卡西荷爾畫廊，柏林（購自上述人士）
卡斯帕里畫廊，慕尼黑（1917年購自上述人士處）
E. K. ． 科尼格斯，漢堡（1932年購自上述人士）
阿貝爾斯畫廊，科隆，1952年透過漢堡的休瑟爾畫廊購自上述人士
寇提斯． 克瑞菲爾德醫師（1952年購於上述人士處）
奧圖．伍爾夫，荷蘭安姆洛金

「阿爾弗雷德．希斯里：真正的印象派主義者」，德國伍珀塔爾，海德博物館， 2011-12年，圖版頁199

佛蘭斯瓦．道特，《阿爾弗雷德．希斯里畫作專題目錄》，1959年，品號755，附圖版

This work is in very good condition. Original canvas with a small reinforcement at upper left. The colors are fresh and lovely and the surface retains a rich impasto. There is a small horizontal restoration 1 1/2 inches long at upper left with a smaller spot beneath it. Under UV light, there are small retouches to 2-3 cracks to the side of the haystack in center left, otherwise fine.
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.

Chemin à l'entrée d'un bois is emblematic of the so-called "classic" Impressionist technique developed in the 1870s that dominated Sisley's 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 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 canvass [sic] 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).

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.).