Overview
In 1900, Sisley’s L’innondation à Port-Marly (1876, now at the Musée d’Orsay) sold to the Count Isaac de Camondo for a record price of 43,000 francs at the Georges Petit gallery, a 30,000 % increase from its original sale some 20 years prior. In 2017, Sisley’s Effet de neige à Louveciennes sold for an above-high estimate of $9.1m, making him one of the most expensive 19th-century painters. Given today’s quasi-unanimous celebration of Impressionist artists, it is difficult to imagine the struggles they faced in their lifetime. Sisley, despite a privileged upbringing, was no exception.
Sisley was born in France to English parents. He spent most of his life in France and only visited England a few times. In 1857-1859 his father, a successful artificial flowers dealer, sent him to London to learn the intricacies of the business. However, instead, Sisley visited the local museums, mesmerized by the English School of landscape and such masters as Constable and Turner. With unwavering determination upon his return from England, he embarked on a creative path against societal expectations. In 1862, Sisley entered the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts in the history painter Charles Gleyre's studio. There, he formed a friendship with his classmates, Frédéric Bazille, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Claude Monet.
In 1863, frustrated by academic training, not in line with his ideals, Sisley left Paris and Gleyre’s studio for Fontainebleau Forest to emulate the Barbizon artists, who had painted there as early as the 1820-30s. With his friends, Sisley traded the studio environment for plein-air painting in order to capture the fleeting effects of light more effectively. The few paintings by Sisley from this period that have survived - most were likely destroyed during the Franco-Prussian War - are darker in tone and close to the style of Corot.
Drawing inspiration from nature's ever-changing moods, Sisley embraced the interplay of light, color, and atmosphere. Despite his unconventional approach to painting, Sisley had a traditional understanding of the progression of an artist’s career: he understood that success came by showing at the annual Salon. He was accepted for the first time in 1867, but few noticed him, and often, the jury rejected his work. This constant disappointment prompted Sisley to join Degas, Manet, Pissarro, Renoir, and others in establishing an independent exhibition in 1874, the famous First Impressionist exhibition, which took place in the studio of the photographer Nadar. Inspired by the group’s camaraderie and shared artistic ideals, Sisley set out to redefine the boundaries of traditional painting with a bright, pure palette and visible brushstrokes. Sisley showed with the Impressionists in 1876, 1877, and 1882.
Unfortunately, the loss of his father’s financial support due to the Franco-Prussian War resulted in Sisley and his family living impoverished in various locations outside Paris. In 1880, they settled further away to the southeast, near the forest of Fontainebleau. During that time, he became partially dependent on the Paris art dealing firm of Durand-Ruel for his livelihood. Because of Durand-Ruel’s inconsistent support, Sisley also worked with other dealers, such as Ambroise Vollard and Theo Van Gogh. Georges Petit organized the first retrospective of Sisley’s career in 1897 but, unfortunately, did not sell any of the 146 paintings exhibited. In 1899, a few days before his passing, Paul Durand-Ruel sold his Vue de Saint Mammès to the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. This painting was the first work by Sisley to enter an American museum and the first sign of a shifting market.