Alfred Sisley Original Late 19th Century Antique French Impressionist Plein Air Moret-sur-Loing Parisian Countryside Barn France Oil on Academy Board Painting Circa 1895

Alfred Sisley (October 1839 – January 1899) was a landscape painter associated with the Impressionist movement. Born in France to British parents, he devoted most of his life to painting outdoor landscapes, primarily in France. While his peers like Renoir and Pissarro occasionally explored figure painting, Sisley found fulfillment in capturing the essence of nature through Impressionism.

Sisley's notable works include a series of paintings depicting the River Thames, particularly around Hampton Court, created in 1874, as well as landscapes featuring places in or near Moret-sur-Loing. His paintings of the Seine and its bridges in the suburbs of Paris are characterized by serene scenes, rendered in delicate shades of green, pink, purple, dusty blue, and cream. Throughout his career, Sisley's expressive power and mastery of color intensified.

Sisley was born in Paris to wealthy British parents. His father, William Sisley, worked in the silk industry, while his mother, Felicia Sell, had a passion for music.

At the age of 18, in 1857, Alfred Sisley was sent to London to pursue a career in business. However, after four years, he abandoned business and returned to Paris in 1861. From 1862 onwards, he studied at the Paris École des Beaux-Arts under the guidance of Swiss artist Marc-Charles-Gabriel Gleyre. It was during this time that he became acquainted with fellow painters Frédéric Bazille, Claude Monet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Together, they embraced the practice of painting landscapes outdoors, in plein air, to capture the fleeting effects of sunlight. This approach, revolutionary at the time, resulted in vibrant and loosely painted artworks, which diverged from the traditional studio-bound techniques. Initially, Sisley and his friends faced challenges exhibiting and selling their works, as they were often rejected by the jury of the prestigious annual Salon, the most important art exhibition in France. However, Sisley had a more stable financial situation than some of his peers, thanks to an allowance from his father.

In 1866, Sisley began a relationship with Eugénie Lescouezec (1834–1898), also known as Marie Lescouezec, a Breton woman residing in Paris. The couple had two children together: a son named Pierre (born 1867) and a daughter named Jeanne (1869). During this time, Sisley lived in close proximity to the Café Guerbois on Avenue de Clichy, a popular meeting place for Parisian artists.

Although his paintings were accepted at the Salon in 1868, the exhibition did not bring him financial or critical success, nor did subsequent exhibitions.

Molesey Weir – Morning, one of the paintings executed by Sisley on his visit to Britain in 1874

The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 had a profound impact on Sisley's life. His father's business failed, leaving him solely dependent on the sale of his artworks. As a result, he lived in poverty for the rest of his life, as his paintings did not gain significant monetary value until after his death. However, Sisley occasionally received support from patrons, which allowed him to make a few short trips to Britain.

His first trip to Britain occurred in 1874, following the first independent Impressionist exhibition. Spending a few months in the southwest of London

During his visit to Britain in 1874, Sisley explored and painted the non-tidal Thames at East Molesey and below Hampton Court Bridge, an experience that led to the creation of nearly twenty paintings. This series, according to art historian Kenneth Clark, epitomized a "perfect moment of Impressionism."

Until 1880, Sisley resided and worked in the countryside west of Paris. Afterward, he and his family moved to a small village near Moret-sur-Loing, close to the Fontainebleau forest, which had been a significant inspiration for the Barbizon school painters of an earlier era. Anne Poulet, an art historian, remarked that this tranquil setting, with its ever-changing atmospheric conditions, perfectly complemented Sisley's artistic talents. Unlike Monet, who sought dramatic seascapes and vibrant landscapes on the French Riviera, Sisley focused on capturing the subtle beauty of his surroundings.

In 1881, Sisley made a brief second trip to Great Britain. In 1897, accompanied by his partner, he visited Britain again and finally tied the knot in Wales on 5 August. They spent time in Penarth, where Sisley painted several oil compositions of the sea and cliffs. Later, they moved to the Osborne Hotel in Langland Bay on the Gower Peninsula, where he produced additional paintings in and around Langland Bay and Rotherslade. They returned to France in October, marking Sisley's final visit to his ancestral homeland. The National Museum Cardiff now houses two of his oil paintings depicting Penarth and Langland.

In the following year, Sisley applied for French citizenship, but his request was initially denied. Though a second application was supported by a police report, illness intervened, and Sisley remained a British citizen until his passing.

Sisley succumbed to throat cancer on 29 January 1899 in Moret-sur-Loing, just a few months after his wife's death. He was 59 years old at the time. Sisley and his wife were buried together at the Moret-sur-Loing Cemetery.

Work:

Sisley's early student works have been lost to history. His initial landscape paintings were characterized by dark browns, greens, and pale blues, often depicting scenes in Marly and Saint-Cloud. Although little is known about Sisley's direct exposure to J.M.W. Turner and John Constable's artworks, which he may have encountered during his time in London, some art historians suggest that these painters may have influenced his development as an Impressionist. Gustave Courbet and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot are also speculated to have had an impact on Sisley's style.

He drew inspiration from the style and subject matter of previous modern painters such as Camille Pissarro and Édouard Manet. While Sisley's art bears stylistic and thematic similarities to Monet's work, his effects are generally more subdued. Described by art historian Robert Rosenblum as having an "almost generic character, an impersonal textbook idea of a perfect Impressionist painting," Sisley's works evoked a strong sense of atmosphere, with his skies always leaving a lasting impression. Among the Impressionists, Sisley stood out as the artist most dedicated to landscape painting.

Some of Sisley's most renowned pieces include "Street in Moret" and "Sand Heaps," both owned by the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as "The Bridge at Moret-sur-Loing," showcased at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Another notable work is "Allée des peupliers de Moret" (The Lane of Poplars at Moret), which has unfortunately been stolen three times from the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nice.

Sisley's artistic output was extensive, including around 900 oil paintings, approximately 100 pastels, and numerous drawings. However, a significant number of fake Sisley artworks have been discovered, leading to challenges in authenticating his works.

During the Nazi period from 1933 to 1945, several of Sisley's paintings were seized from Jewish art collectors as part of the extensive looting of Jewish possessions that preceded the Holocaust. In 2004, one of Sisley's paintings, "Soleil de Printemps, le Loing" (1892), was returned to the family of Louis Hirsch in a ceremony held in Paris.

In 2008, a dispute arose between art dealer Alain Dreyfus and the auction house Christie's over the sale of Sisley's painting "First Day of Spring in Moret." The Lindon family claimed ownership, and Dreyfus argued that Christie's had not adequately examined the work's history and provenance prior to the sale.

Furthermore, the painting "Bateux en Réparation à Saint Mammès" (1885) by Sisley was recognized as having been looted by the Nazis. A settlement was reached with the heirs of Benno and Frances Bernstein, who were the previous owners before the Nazi occupation.

Several Sisley artworks, including "Winter Landscape," were known to have been seized by the Nazi looting organization known as the E.R.R. (Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg) and have yet to be recovered.

The German Lost Art Foundation currently has 24 listings for Sisley in its database, indicating the ongoing efforts to identify and document his artworks that may have been lost or stolen.

Alfred Sisley's contributions as an Impressionist landscape painter and his commitment to capturing the essence of nature en plein air continue to be recognized and appreciated in the art world.

Alfred Sisley

(1839-1899)

British, French Impressionism

Landscape in the French Countryside, near Moret-sur-Loing, West of Paris

Signed lower left

Circa 1895

Approximately 24.25". X 18.4"

Oil on Reeves London Board

The painting is unframed

The painting is in good condition and the paint is stable. There are small pin dots of missing paint throughout that have not been restored. There have been no previous restorations or overpaints. All paint is original to the painting.

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