Alfred Sisley

Galerie Druet, Paris
François Depeaux, Paris (sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, Vente de tableaux modernes. Collection d'un amateur, 25th April 1901, lot 47)
I. Montaignac, Paris (purchased at the above sale)
Bernheim-Jeune, Paris
Prince de Wagram, Paris
Collection Pagenstecher, Germany (acquired in the 1920s)
Private Collection, Europe (by descent from the above. Sold: 23rd Sotheby's, London, June 2003, lot 2)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Dusseldorf, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Hundert Jahre Kunstverein Rheinlande und Westfalen, 1929

François Daulte, Alfred Sisley, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Lausanne, 1959, no. 724, illustrated
Marc-Henri Tellier, François Depeaux: Le Charbonnier et les impressionnistes, Rouen, 2010, no. 481, illustrated in colour p. 219

The canvas is strip-lined. Apart from some intermittent lines of retouching on the extreme upper left edge and a tiny speck of retouching in the trees as well as two small spots of retouching in the water, all visible under ultra-violet light, this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although slightly richer in the original.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Sisley is renowned for his extraordinary ability to infuse his landscape with vivid atmospheric effects such as in the evocative Le Pont de Moret et les moulins - Effet d'hiver painted in 1890. The artist first moved with his family to Veneux-Nadon near Moret-sur-Loing in 1880, and continued to live in that area for the rest of his life, moving several times between the two villages. In 1889, Sisley moved with his family to Moret, occupying a house with a small walled garden in the quiet, secluded rue de l'Eglise where he set up a studio in the attic. In her discussion of Sisley's paintings executed in Moret-sur-Loing, Vivienne Couldrey noted: 'It is difficult to over-emphasise the importance of Moret, for Sisley painted most of his life's work in the area [...]. It is an essentially Impressionist place with the gentle light of the Ile de France' (V. Couldrey, Alfred Sisley, The English Impressionist, Exeter, 1992, p. 68).

Sisley cherished the beauty and quietness of Moret, which provided an important source of inspiration. The small town presented him with a unique concentration of picturesque landmarks to depict, in particular the bridge about which Richard Shone comments: 'Gathered in one spot were the motifs that had mesmerised him since he began to paint. Here was the 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' (R. Shone, Sisley, London, 1992, p. 159). In the present work Sisley has utilised the sweeping bridge and the conteracting flow of the river to create a wonderfully vibrant composition that suggests the bustle of the small market town. The freshness of open air and the crisp feeling of a winter day are rendered in cool white tones, while the water is conveyed in quick brush-strokes of steely blues and greens.


Fig. 1, The church and bridge at Moret-sur-Loing, 1895