Small Meadows in Spring - By

This painting by Alfred Sisley shows a tree-lined path running along the left bank of the Seine, linking the villages of Veneux-les-Sablons and By, with Champagne-sur-Seine in the background on the right. In the foreground, slightly left of centre, stands a young girl, probably Sisley's daughter Jeanne, although that identification is not certain. The scene is simple: a beaten earth track, the vegetation along the riverbank, and a wide sky that fills much of the composition.

The work belongs to a turning point in Sisley's career. Financial difficulties forced him to leave Sèvres, and in 1882 he settled permanently in Moret-sur-Loing, though he had already worked around Veneux-les-Sablons. In these landscapes his painting gains a new vitality and freshness, with clear light and loose brushwork that captures the open air without dwelling on detail. The date is slightly uncertain: the catalogue gives 1880, while other accounts point to 1881.

The same path appears reversed in another of his compositions, showing that he returned to this spot from different viewpoints. After passing through several owners, the picture reached the National Gallery in London in 1936, given in memory of Roger Fry. In 1953 it was assigned to Tate Britain, which lent it back to the National Gallery in 1997. Its interest lies in showing a calmer Sisley, attentive to the everyday countryside on the outskirts of Paris.

Painter

Alfred Sisley

Date

1880

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

54 × 73 cm

Museum

National Gallery, London

Movement

Impressionism

Genre

landscape painting

Depicts

tree, spring, Seine, rural area, trunk, standing, dress, straw hat

Share:FacebookWhatsApp