Alfred Sisley

François Depeaux, Paris (sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, April 25, 1901, lot 52)

Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (acquired at the above sale)

Adolphe Tavernier, Paris (sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, April 15, 1907, lot 47)

Léon Orosdi, Paris (sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, May 25, 1923, lot 66)

M. Gradt (acquired at the above sale)

Mme Rigaud, Paris (by 1957)

Private Collection, France (by descent from the above and sold: Christie's, London, December 8, 1999, lot 14)

Private Collection (acquired at the above sale and sold: Christie's, London, June 22, 2004, lot 8)

Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Paris, Galeries Georges Petit, A. Sisley, 1897, no. 42

Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Sisley, 1957, no. 58, illustrated in the catalogue

Bern, Kunstmuseum, Alfred Sisley, 1958, no. 85

Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Alfred Sisley, 1971, no. 48, illustrated in the catalogue

François Daulte, Alfred Sisley, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, Lausanne, 1959, no. 758, illustrated

Marc-Henri Tellier, François Depeaux, Le charbonnier et les impressionnistes, Rouen, 2010, p. 220

Very good condition. Original canvas. The paint layer is fresh and stable, and the impasto is beautifully intact. Under ultra-violet light, there is a spot of restoration in the sky, approximately 1 inch long and a tiny restoration in the lower left corner. Overall, the colors are extremely fresh and the work is in a beautiful condition.
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.

Painted from a vantage point across the Loing river, this exquisitely-detailed depiction of the town of Moret belongs to an important series that Sisley completed during the last decade of his life.  Sisley cherished the beauty of Moret, notable for its mills built upon a multi-arched bridge and its sturdy medieval architecture.  The scene here features a view of the town during the morning, when light from the east shines brightly on the surface from the water.  On the bank of the river are a woman and small child, rendered with the same, precise horizontal strokes as the trees that rise above them.  More signs of early morning activity appear on the bridge on the right, as people traverse the Loing. 

Richard Shone discussed the appeal of this picturesque town: "The fame of Moret rested not so much on what was found inside the town but on the view it presented from across the Loing. Old flour and tanning mills clustered along the bridge; the river, scattered with tiny islands, seemed more like a moat protecting the houses and terraced gardens that, on either side the sturdy Porte de Bourgogne, in turn defended the pinnacled tower of the church. Add to this the tree-lined walks along the river, the continuous sound of water from the weir and the great wheels of the mills, the houseboats and fishermen, and there was, as every guidebook exclaimed, 'a captivating picture', a sight 'worthy of the brush'. These supremely picturesque aspects of Moret left Sisley unabashed. Gathered in one spot were the motifs that had mesmerized him since he began to paint. Here were water, sky, reflections, a busy riverside; the multi-arched bridge was for the artist the last in a long line of such structures going back through Sèvres and St-Cloud and Hampton Court to Argenteuil and Villeneuve-la-Garenne. Here was that conjunction of man-made and natural, the interleaving of foliage and house fronts between sky and water" (R. Shone, Sisley, London, 1992, p. 159).

The first owner of this picture was the Rouen-based industrialist François Depeaux (1853-1920), who was Sisley's most important patron during the last two decades of the 19th century.  Depeaux was also a patron of Claude Monet, and he entertained the two artists at his estate at Le Mesnil-Esnard and met with them in England.  Sisley had also spent time working at Depeaux's Swansea house in the late 1890s.   This picture later came into the possession of Léon Orosdi, whose works by Sisley ranked among the most important in his prestigious collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art.