Paintings by Alfred Sisley

Though Alfred Sisley never found the fame that some of his fellow Impressionists did, he was instrumental in the rise of the famous movement. Part of the famous Charles Gleyre studio -- along with Frédéric Bazille, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet -- Alfred Sisley learned the plein air techniques of the Barbizon School painters which he would employ throughout his career.

Alfred Sisley exhibited with the Impressionists throughout much of the movement, demonstrating commanding brushwork in his varied landscapes. However, a disagreement with Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas prompted Sisley, along with Claude Monet and others, to withdraw their works from the eighth and final exhibition. Despite this absence, Alfred Sisley's name will forever be connected to the Impressionists.

Below you will find links to some of Alfred Sisley's more well-known paintings. Click them to learn more about Alfred Sisley.

Autumn: Banks of the Seine near Bougival: Autumn: Banks of the Seine near Bougival established Alfred Sisley as a staunch plein air painter. Learn about Autumn: Banks of the Seine near Bougival, which was shown at the Impressionists' first exhibition.
Flood at Port-Marly: Flood at Port-Marly by Alfred Sisley may have been shown at the Impressionists' third exhibition, and demonstrates Sisley's command of landscape techniques. Read about Flood at Port-Marly by Alfred Sisley.

Alfred Sisley's dedication to the plein air movement is evident in the first Impressionist painting we will look at, on the next page.

For more on Impressionist paintings, artists, and art history, see:

For more on Impressionist paintings, artists, and art history, see:

Autumn: Banks of the Seine near Bougival by Alfred Sisley

Alfred Sisley, whose painting Autumn: Banks of the Seine near Bougival was completed in 1873, was a dedicated plein air Impressionist painter. In Autumn: Banks of the Seine near Bougival, Sisley uses color to convey autumn. The band of trees along the shoreline are ablaze with russet-red leaves. The reflection of this color on the water is only slightly muted, contrasting with the pale blue water that repeats the color of the sky. Jean Prouvaire, a critic who admitted to only modest admiration of Sisley's work, found Autumn: Banks of the Seine near Bougival superior to other landscapes in the exhibition.

Sisley's mastery of landscape technique and allegiance to the plein air movement is evident in many of his Impressionist paintings. On the next page we'll look at a painting that exhibits both of these traits.

For more on Impressionist paintings, artists, and art history, see:

For more on Impressionist paintings, artists, and art history, see:

Flood at Port-Marly by Alfred Sisley

Alfred Sisley's 1876 painting Flood at Port-Marly may have been included in the Impressionists third exhibition. The catalogue of the third exhibition lists the entry Inondations, and the critic Charles Bigot mentions two works depicting floods by Alfred Sisley, but neither have been identified.

Flood at Port-Marly -- with its nuanced, blue-gray palette -- serves to illustrate Alfred Sisley's command of the heavy, moisture-laden atmosphere and the clear reflections on the high, trembling waters.

For more on Impressionist paintings, artists, and art history, see:

For more on Impressionist paintings, artists, and art history, see:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Debra N. Mancoff is an art historian and lecturer and the author of numerous books on nineteenth-century European and American paintings. She is a scholar in residence at the Newberry Library.