AN APPRECIATION: Alfred Sisley![]() Alfred Sisley was one of the original Impressionists and remained true to that style throughout his career. He was a painter of landscapes that are bright, colorful and beautiful without being sentimental or trivial.
Career Sisley was born on October 30, 1839 into a British family living in Paris. While he spent most of his life in France, he did make several visits to Great Britain. Towards the end of his life, he applied to become a French citizen. His first application was rejected and the second was still pending when he died. Thus, while Sisley was officially British, France was his home. In 1857, Sisley's father, who was in the silk trade, sent his son to London to study business. The young Sisley had little interest in this subject and spent most of his time visiting London's art museums. He was particularly impressed by the work of the English landscape painters John Constable and J.M.W. Turner. Upon his return to France, Sisley decided that he wanted to become an artist and enrolled in the official art school, the Academie des Beaux Arts (the “Academy”). One of the instructors at the Academy was Charles Gleyre. In addition to teaching at the Academy, Gleyre operated a studio where artists could meet and receive additional instruction. Sisley met a number of young artists there including Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir and Frederick Bazille. Like Sisley, they were interested in plein air painting and influenced by the work of Camille Corot and the Brabizon school of artists. Soon Sisley was accompanying Monet and Renoir on painting expeditions around Paris and vicinity. During these early years, Sisley received an allowance from his father and thus was not dependent on his art for his living. Indeed, like Bazille, he even provided financial support to his less financially fortunate friends. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 changed everything. As a British citizen, Sisley was not involved in the fighting and spent part of this period in England. However, the war ruined his father's business and from then on, Sisley had to look to his art for his living. Sisley had had some success with his art. Some of his works had been accepted for exhibition at the prestigious annual Paris Salon in 1866, 1868 and 1870, But around 1870, largely under the influence of Monet, he started using a brighter palette and a vaguer style. Consequently, the Salon began to reject Sisley's submissions. His young friends often met at the Cafe Guerbois to socialize and debate questions of art. Although Sisley was well-liked by this group, he was shy by nature and only went there occasionally. However, when the group decided to stage their own exhibition independent of the Salon, Sisley agreed to participate. Inasmuch as Sisley's style was by now quite Impressionistic, he was not spared the criticism that the press leveled at the First Impressionist Exhibition of 1874. He participated in the Second and Third Impressionist exhibitions but met with little success. Although he would return for the Seventh Impressionist Exhibition, Sisley once again began submitting works to the Salon. At first, his works were rejected but some were accepted later in his career. Beginning around 1872, Sisley was represented by Paul Durand-Ruel, a private art dealer, and later in his career by Georges Petit. They were able to sell some of Sisley's paintings but not for very much money. As a result, Sisley and his family lived in poverty, moving to various locations around Paris and vicinity in order to find more inexpensive accommodations. In early 1899, Sisley died of throat cancer. Monet persuaded Georges Petit to hold an auction of Sisley's works for the benefit of Sisley's children. This sale was somewhat successful with the sale of 27 paintings bringing in 112,320 francs. However, the next year, one of Sisley's paintings, “Flood at Port-Marly” sold for 43,000 francs. Thus, the financial success that had alluded Sisley during his lifetime finally appeared. Private life Renoir remembered that as a young man, his friend Sisley could never resist an opportunity to flirt with a pretty girl. However, in In 1866, Sisley met Marie-Louise Adelaide Lescouezec (Eugénie). She was apparently from a good social background but unknown circumstance had forced her into a variety of jobs including modelling, which was not considered a suitable occupation for a respectable lady. Nonetheless, Sisley fell in love with her and remained devoted to her until her death in 1898. Although one of Renoir's best known early paintings is often called “Alfred Sisley and His Wife,” Alfred and Eugenie were not married until 1897 during a trip to Wales. The couple had two children. Analysis Sisley was an Impressionist painter to the core. His style is what one thinks of as Impressionism. Unlike his colleagues Monet, Renoir and Camille Pissarro, Sisley remained true to the Impressionist style throughout his career. While the others explored other styles, Sisley continued to develop Impressionism. Similarly, Sisley was devoted to landscape painting. Unlike Monet, Renoir and Pissarro, he seldom ventured into portraits or figure paintings. This unwillingness to diversify into other subjects came at a high price for the impoverished artist inasmuch as subjects such as portraits had a greater market than landscapes. At first glance, a work by Sisley sometimes can be mistaken for a landscape by Monet. However, on further study, there are distinct differences. Monet used a brighter palette and his compositions are less measured than Sisley's. Monet also had a greater ability to capture the essence of a scene. Sisley may be overshadowed by Monet and Renoir but he was nonetheless a first-rate talent. It is only because his friends were such superstars capable of conveying the essence of life in universal terms that Sisley is in the shadows. |
Above: Sisley's "The Loring at Saint-Mammes."
Below: "The Small Meadow in Spring." Water often features in Sisley's compositions. Above: "St. Marting Canal".
Below: "The Bridge at Hampton Court." Impressionism without sunshine - - "Snow on the Road Louveciennes" (above) and "Fog, Voisins" (below).
See our profiles of these other Impressionists and members of their circle.
Frederic Bazille Eugene Boudin Marie Bracquemond Gustave Caillebotte Mary Cassatt Paul Cezanne Edgar Degas Henri Fantin-Latour Paul Gauguin Eva Gonzales Armand Guillaumin Edouard Manet Claude Monet (Part I The Early Years) Claude Monet (Part II High Impressionism) Claude Monet (Part III The Giverny Years) Berthe Morisot Camille Pissarro Pierre Auguste Renoir Suzanne Valadon Victor Vignon |
Artist appreciation - Alfred Sisley