Alfred Sisley

Galerie Schmit, Paris

Private Collection, France (sold: Me Champin, Lombrail, Gautier, Enghien-les-Bains, June 21, 1988, lot 6)

Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

 

Original canvas. The paint layer is in beautiful condition. No retouches are visible under ultra-violet light. This painting is in 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 at the peak of the Impressionist movement, Sisley's depiction of wooded banks of the Seine at Veneux is an exceptional plein-air painting.  This work is closely related to a composition of the same date (Daulte no. 407), and is one among a series of canvases depicting the pathway from Veneux to the cliff-top villages of By and Thoméry.   Sisley spent three years painting these environs in the early 1880s, and his fascination with the place perhaps can be summarized by a contemporary nature enthusiast who described the environment in the following terms: "The Seine is supurb... broad unmoving expanses of water stretch out between high wooded slopes, the branches coming right down to the river" (quoted in R. Shone, Sisley, New York, 1992, p. 129). 

Richard Shone writes of Sisley's endless fascination with the banks of the Seine, and how the seasonal variations of the area presented him with opportunities to broaden his aesthetic: "Sisley worked in all seasons and weathers along this beautiful and still unspoilt bank of the Seine.  Its topography gave him new configurations of space in which far horizons combined with plunging views below; the horizontals of the skyline, riverbank and receding path are overlaid by emphatic verticals and diagonals to produce densely structured surfaces.  This becomes particularly evident in his landscapes painting in winter and early spring, before summer foliage obscured these far-reaching lines of vision.  It is then, too, that Sisley's skies assume greater variety and grandeur" (ibid. p. 135).