Lot Essay
In 1892 Sisley settled in Moret-sur-Loing, a small village about twenty-five miles south-east of Paris, where he lived until his death in 1899. The beauty of this region is well-chronicled:
It is essentially an Impressionist place with the gentle light of the Ile-de-France, the soft colors and the constantly changing skies of northern France. There are green woods and pastures, curving tree- lined banks of rivers, canals and narrow streams, wide stretches of river where the Loing joins the Seine at Saint-Mammès, old stone houses, churches and bridges. (V. Couldrey, Alfred Sisley: The English Impressionist, Exeter, 1992, p. 68)
At Moret, Sisley often painted several studies of the same theme, like the avenue of poplars at different times of the day or in different seasons of the year. L'allée des peupliers clearly illustrates what Roger Fry described as Sisley's "infallible instinct for spacing and proportion." The strong verticals of the trees provide a firm pictorial structure, creating a sense of depth through their gradual recession, while the broad panorama and expansive sky capture the feeling of open space. The delicate and detailed brushwork enhances the airy effect.
This impression of purity and radiant light in the landscape is undoubtedly the result of the importance given to the sky, which fills at least half of the canvas. In addition, Sisley has a particular way of creating each of the elements in the landscape, using a variety of techniques to describe the various parts of the picture. There are numerous canvases, for example, in which short, separate brushstrokes depict the ground or the leaves, while the sky relies on blended or transparent tones. Sisley expressed this point clearly in a letter of January, 1892, written to his friend Adolphe Tavernier: "I am for diversity of techniques in the same picture. Objects must be rendered so as to indicate their individual textures; in addition, and above all, they must be enveloped in light, as they are in nature." (R. Cogniat, Sisley, Switzerland, 1978, p. 85).
Moret, Bords du Loing (Daulte no. 815; Musée d'Orsay, Paris) was also painted in 1892 and depicts the same line of poplars along the banks of the Loing. Here, the trees are covered in leaves much as they are in L'allée des peupliers, suggesting that the two works were painted around the same time of year.
It is essentially an Impressionist place with the gentle light of the Ile-de-France, the soft colors and the constantly changing skies of northern France. There are green woods and pastures, curving tree- lined banks of rivers, canals and narrow streams, wide stretches of river where the Loing joins the Seine at Saint-Mammès, old stone houses, churches and bridges. (V. Couldrey, Alfred Sisley: The English Impressionist, Exeter, 1992, p. 68)
At Moret, Sisley often painted several studies of the same theme, like the avenue of poplars at different times of the day or in different seasons of the year. L'allée des peupliers clearly illustrates what Roger Fry described as Sisley's "infallible instinct for spacing and proportion." The strong verticals of the trees provide a firm pictorial structure, creating a sense of depth through their gradual recession, while the broad panorama and expansive sky capture the feeling of open space. The delicate and detailed brushwork enhances the airy effect.
This impression of purity and radiant light in the landscape is undoubtedly the result of the importance given to the sky, which fills at least half of the canvas. In addition, Sisley has a particular way of creating each of the elements in the landscape, using a variety of techniques to describe the various parts of the picture. There are numerous canvases, for example, in which short, separate brushstrokes depict the ground or the leaves, while the sky relies on blended or transparent tones. Sisley expressed this point clearly in a letter of January, 1892, written to his friend Adolphe Tavernier: "I am for diversity of techniques in the same picture. Objects must be rendered so as to indicate their individual textures; in addition, and above all, they must be enveloped in light, as they are in nature." (R. Cogniat, Sisley, Switzerland, 1978, p. 85).
Moret, Bords du Loing (Daulte no. 815; Musée d'Orsay, Paris) was also painted in 1892 and depicts the same line of poplars along the banks of the Loing. Here, the trees are covered in leaves much as they are in L'allée des peupliers, suggesting that the two works were painted around the same time of year.