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Lot Essay
In 1880 Sisley yielded to financial constraints and moved from Paris to the suburb of Sèvres in the Seine-et-Marne region. There he lived in the village of Veneux-les-Sablons, just a few miles west of Moret, until September 1882. While this move may be read as a retreat for the artist, it marked a time when Sisley returned to his Impressionist roots and the scenes of his early career, locations of which were nearby; Barbizon, Chailly-en-Bière and Marlotte. Sisley's move to this region at the edges of the Fontainebleu forest coincided with a significant phase in the development of Impressionism. While criticism and self-doubt assailed his contemporaries, Sisley remained convinced of the aims of Impressionism and continued on his quest to capture on canvas the colors of the seasons and light at different times of the day.
As the title suggests, the present work was painted in May 1882. Sisley was taken by the more rugged and unkempt aspects of the local terrain, and during this time he often painted views of the foot paths winding through the thickets along the Seine's edge. Depictions of wooded paths had appeared in his oeuvre since the mid-1870s, and in the early 1880s they had become a regular compositional feature.
His works from this period are more free in terms of both technique and palette and stylistically relate to Monet's Argenteuil canvases. Painted from an elevated vantage point overlooking the Seine valley, the present work depicts a bend in the river located in the village of By, just downstream from Saint-Mammès. Using quick and rhythmic brushstrokes to enliven the surface and painted with primarily cool tones, the stillness of the scene is imparted by late afternoon shadows and full clouds hanging lightly overhead.
As the title suggests, the present work was painted in May 1882. Sisley was taken by the more rugged and unkempt aspects of the local terrain, and during this time he often painted views of the foot paths winding through the thickets along the Seine's edge. Depictions of wooded paths had appeared in his oeuvre since the mid-1870s, and in the early 1880s they had become a regular compositional feature.
His works from this period are more free in terms of both technique and palette and stylistically relate to Monet's Argenteuil canvases. Painted from an elevated vantage point overlooking the Seine valley, the present work depicts a bend in the river located in the village of By, just downstream from Saint-Mammès. Using quick and rhythmic brushstrokes to enliven the surface and painted with primarily cool tones, the stillness of the scene is imparted by late afternoon shadows and full clouds hanging lightly overhead.