A splash of green in the urban landscape. That’s Square Alfred Sisley for you. It offers a serene escape amidst the Parisian hustle. We are standing here now. I’ll tell you about the artist behind the name.
Alfred Sisley was an Impressionist landscape painter. He was born in Paris in 1839. His parents were British. They were well-off. His father was in the silk business. His mother was a cultivated music lover.
Young Alfred was sent to London at 18. He was supposed to study business. But art called to him. He returned to Paris in 1861. He defied his parents’ wishes. He wanted to be a painter. They supported his decision.
In 1862, Sisley entered the Paris École des Beaux-Arts. He studied in the atelier of Swiss artist Marc-Charles-Gabriel Gleyre. There, he met Frédéric Bazille, Claude Monet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. These encounters would shape his artistic journey.
They chose to paint outdoors, en plein air. They wanted to capture the fleeting effects of sunlight. This was a novel approach at the time. It resulted in colourful paintings. They were painted more broadly than the public was used to. Sisley and his friends struggled to exhibit their work. The annual Salon often rejected them.
Sisley’s early financial situation was better than his peers. He received an allowance from his father. In 1866, he began a relationship with Eugénie Lescouezec. She was a Breton woman living in Paris. They had two children together.
The Franco-Prussian War in 1870 changed everything. Sisley’s father’s business failed. The artist had to rely solely on selling his paintings. He lived in poverty for the rest of his life. His paintings did not gain significant value until after his death.
Despite financial hardships, Sisley continued to paint. He focused on landscapes. He captured the tranquil beauty of the Seine and its bridges. His paintings featured pale shades of green, pink, purple, dusty blue, and cream.
Sisley made a few trips to Britain. One trip in 1874 resulted in paintings of the River Thames. Art historian Kenneth Clark called them “a perfect moment of Impressionism.”
In 1880, Sisley and his family moved to a village near Moret-sur-Loing. The area was close to the forest of Fontainebleau. The gentle landscapes perfectly suited his talents. Unlike Monet, he never sought the drama of the ocean.
In 1897, Sisley finally married his partner in Wales. He painted seascapes and cliffs during this visit. This was his last trip to his ancestral homeland.
He applied for French citizenship but was denied. Alfred Sisley died of throat cancer in 1899. He remained a British national until his death.
Sisley’s early works are lost. His first landscape paintings are sombre. They feature dark browns, greens, and pale blues. He was inspired by Camille Pissarro and Édouard Manet. Some say he was influenced by J.M.W. Turner and John Constable.
Sisley’s art strongly evokes atmosphere. His skies are always impressive. He concentrated on landscape more than any other Impressionist painter.
The Musée d’Orsay in Paris displays his painting The Bridge at Moret-sur-Loing.
Sadly, many fake Sisleys have surfaced over the years. Sisley created about 900 oil paintings. He also made 100 pastels and many other drawings.
During the Nazi period, some of his works were stolen from Jewish collectors. Some of these stolen works have been recovered. Others remain missing.
Square Alfred Sisley reminds us of the artist’s dedication to capturing the beauty of the ordinary. His life was marked by both artistic passion and personal struggles. Take a moment to appreciate the tranquility of this space. Remember the legacy of Alfred Sisley.