Alfred Sisley

Paul Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired from the artist on April 29, 1890)

Thence by descent

Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Alfred Sisley, 1957, no. 17 (as dating from 1874)

Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Alfred Sisley, 1971, no. 28, illustrated in the catalogue

Theodore Duret, Histoire des peintres impressionnistes, Paris, 1939 illustrated p. 91

François Daulte, Alfred Sisley, Lausanne, 1959, no. 312, illustrated

François Daulte, Les Paysages de Sisley, Lausanne, 1961, no. 18

François Daulte, Sisley, Milan, 1972, illustrated p. 47

François Daulte, Sisley - Les Saisons, Paris, 1992, no. 25, illustrated p. 47

 

The canvas is lined. The only retouchings visible under ultra-violet light are along the extreme top edge and also a thin vertical line (3 cm) in the upper left corner. Otherwise this work is in excellent 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.

The commune of Sèvres, located just over six miles southwest of central Paris, on the banks of the Seine, was the setting of several of Sisley's landscapes at the height of his involvement with the Impressionist group.  The artist moved to Sèvres in 1877 and spent the next three years painting its landmarks, including its bridges, the station house and the well-known porcelain factory where many artists worked for the National manufacture.  This particular view provides a vivid depiction of the landscape's topography, particularly in its rendering of the steep roadway that trails off into the background.  From the verdant green that dominates the composition, we know that Sisley must have painted this oil in late spring or early summer of 1879.  He had become quite familiar with the region by this point, and in his landscapes he challenged himself by selecting spatially complex and dynamic settings, like the one depicted here.  By the end of the year Sisley would turn his artistic attention towards views of Moret, but his experience in Sèvres was fundamental in shaping his technique for those later landscapes.

The poet Mallarmé wrote the following about Sisley's talent for capturing the nuances of the land in his pictures from the 1870s: "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).