The Bruce Museum in Greenwich and the Hôtel de Caumont Centre d’Art in Aix-en-Provence, France, are mounting a major monographic exhibition of the art of the French Impressionist Alfred Sisley (1839 – 1899). The exhibition runs through May 21.
The first retrospective in the United States in over twenty years of this purest of all the major Impressionists, the show is comprised of about 50 of Sisley’s paintings from private collections and major museums in Europe and North America. The Bruce Museum will premiere the exhibition and be the only venue in the United States.
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— an announcement from the Bruce Museum
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A friend of Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Sisley initially worked in the naturalistic landscape tradition of the Barbizon School but increasingly adopted a proto-Impressionistic style, creating a body of work that has an impressive internal consistency and cumulative authority.
Image from AlfredSisley.org
The Flood at Port Marly, 1876 Oil on canvas, 50 x 61 cm Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection on loan at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid [Image from the AlfredSisley.org website] Look at the last two pictures in this article to see just how little you can trust pictures of paintings — another reason why you should go see them yourself.
Throughout his career, Sisley adhered to the style of divided light and color, momentary effects of illumination, and an acute responsiveness to atmosphere that are the signature attributes of Impressionism.
He dutifully painted en plein air in all manner of weather, recording his favorite sites in the environs of Paris — Bougival, Louveciennes, Marly-le-Roi, Saint-Mammès — in exhaustive detail, in all seasons, and under ever-changing skies.
Image from AlfredSisley.org
Fishermen Spreading their Nets (Drying Nets), 1872. Oil on canvas, 42 x 65 cm Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
Born in Paris to British parents, Sisley studied the landscape paintings of Constable and Turner before enrolling in Charles Gleyre’s studio where he met Monet and Renoir. Little biographical information about his life has survived so his art must speak for itself, and does so with haunting beauty.
The magic with which he was able to capture light sparkling on water, winter sun on snow, and trees rustled by a breeze create some of the most memorable Impressionist images.
Image from AlfredSisley.org
Church at Moret, 1893 Oil on canvas, 55 x 46 cm Musée Calvet d’Avignon
The exhibition was curated by MaryAnne Stevens, an authority on Sisley, with contributions to the catalogue by Richard Shone, who wrote a book on the painter, and Kathleen Adler, a nineteenth-century French specialist.
The exhibition Alfred Sisley (1839-1899): Impressionist Master is organized by the Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut, and Culturespaces.
Image from AlfredSisley.org
Under Hampton Court Bridge, 1874 Oil on canvas, 50 x 76 cm Kunstmuseum Winterthur
Learn more about Alfred Sisley:
- Alfred Sisley: The Complete Works
- Alfred Sisley on The Art Story website
- Alfred Sisley article on Impressioniste.net website
- New York Times review of the Bruce Museum exhibit
- Antiques & the Arts Weekly article on the exhibit
- “Bruce Museum Celebrates the Impressionist Giant Alfred Sisley” article in the Connecticut Post
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An audio tour in the gallery is available for your cell phone. Inquire at admissions for instructions.
Plan your visit: Hours and directions here.
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Programs related to the exhibition
Monday Morning Lecture Series (10 to 11 a.m.)
Feb. 6 — Dr. Susan Strauber, Professor of Art History at Grinnell College, will will speak about Sisley and Impressionism. Free and open to the public.
Feb. 13 — Alison Hokanson, Assistant Curator, Metropolitan Museum of Art, will explore The Met’s holdings of paintings and drawings by Sisley, spanning the years from the dawn of Impressionism in 1872 to just before Sisley’s death in 1899. Free and open to the public.
Feb. 27 — Laura Dickey Corey, PhD candidate at the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, will speak about Mary Cassatt’s continuing ties to the US, in her art, life, and art advising, even while taking up permanent residence in France. Free and open to the public.
March 6 — Heidi Hirschl, Curatorial Assistant, MoMA, will speak about Degas: Impressions, which will consider Degas’s engagement in printmaking through the creation of Impressionist landscape monotypes. Free and open to the public.. Free and open to the public.
Image from AlfredSisley.org
The Seine at Bougival, 1872 Oil on canvas, 50.8 x 65.5 cm, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven (see below for a different image of the same painting)
Graduate Student Symposium and Young Scholar Day
March 5, 1 to 4 p.m. “Framing Nature” Graduate Student Symposium. MA/PhD students will present interdisciplinary papers that engage the multifaceted ways that artists and architects frame nature in their work. Advance registration through Eventbrite suggested: Free for Bruce members, and students and educators with ID, $10 for non-members. At the door: $10 Bruce members, and students and educators with ID, $20 non-members.
Film Series. The Great Artists: Their Lives, Times and Works – The Impressionists
Wednesdays from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. Free and open to the public. No reservations required. This film series chronicles the life, times and works of each featured artist and explores their stylistic trademarks.
The programs also place each artist in historical context, highlighting the events that inspired his work and providing a clearer understanding of the creative process. The five programs in this collection provide an in-depth look into the fascinating world of the Impressionists and their art.
Image from the Bruce Museum website
Here’s the same painting as in the last picture above, “The Seine at Bougival,” 1872 but the flowers are pink, not just a little off-white. It’s from a different picture. This is why you can’t trust pictures of paintings. You need to see the work itself, up close. Go to the Bruce Museum while it’s still hanging there.
April 5: Manet
April 12: Pissarro
April 19: Monet
April 26: Degas
May 3: Renoir
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