Alfred Sisley

Eugène Blot, Paris
Bernheim-Jeune, Paris
Private Collection, Paris
Findlay Galleries, Inc., New York
Private Collection, Florida (acquired from the above and sold: Sotheby's, London, February 4, 2003, lot 13)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

François Daulte, Alfred Sisley, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Lausanne, 1959, no. 708, illustrated n.p.

Good condition. Work is striplined. Back of the canvas has been varnished. Surface has thin, very mild lines of craquelure in the sky. Otherwise, fine. Under UV light, a 5 inch broken line of inpainting in the sky between trees. And another 4 inch broken line in sky to left of tree at center. Several small dots and spots of inpainting also scattered in sky.
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.

The present work is a beautiful example of Sisley's Impressionist landscapes. Sisley's chief concern in his landscape series of the 1880s was to capture the effects of light at different times of the day and during different seasons. As the critic Gustave Geoffroy wrote in 1923, "He sought to express the harmonies that prevail, in all weathers and at every time of day, between foliage, water and sky, and he succeeded... He loved river banks; the fringes of woodland; towns and villages glimpsed through the old trees; old buildings swamped in greenery; winter morning sunlight; summer afternoons" (G. Geoffroy, "Sisley", Les Cahiers d'Aujourd'hui, Paris, 1923).

In the present work, the artist has reduced his subjects to a flurry of concise brushstrokes, allowing them to blend in with the surrounding landscape. The rythmic sway of the trees hold as much importance as his figures, and it is through this complementary relationship that Sisley conveys the serenity of living in the presence of nature. The figures depicted are even off centre leaving the central view to be dominated by the beautiful blossoming trees. "Sisley no more paints a portrait of a tree than Corot does; and yet he knows them all. He has studied every one; he has dissected them; but what he gives us are harmonies of trees in Nature; elements whose essence is variety, recording the seasons and the hours with all the colour effects that are proper to foliage" (L. Roger-Miles, Sisley, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris (exhibition catalogue), 1897, p. 17).