Alfred Sisley, born in Paris to English parents in1839, was sometimes called the “Forgotten Impressionist”. At the age of 18 his father, a silk trader, sent him to London to study business but life as a business man similar to that of his father was not for him and he soon moved back to Paris. His family supported him in his ambition to become an artist and sent him to Gleyre’s studio where he met and worked alongside Monet and Renoir. In 1867 he became a pupil of Corot and a number of Sisley’s works reflect that tutelage with the way in which he has a passionate interest in the sky which became a dominate facet of his paintings
He still rates as one of the greatest Impressionists who ever lived and was regarded as an exceptional en plein air (outdoor) landscape painter. Landscape painting was his favourite genre and he rarely attempted portraits. Similar to another great English landscape artist John Constable, Sisley liked just to concentrate on painting places he knew well such as the Seine and Thames valleys.
The painting on display to today is one of his later works, The Bridge at Moret, which he completed in 1893 and is now exhibited in the Musee d’Orsay. Alfred Sisley died in Moret-sur-Loing at the age of 59, just a few months after the death of his wife. Moret-sur-Loing is a small and charming historical town in the Seine-et-Marne department of north central France and which was a source of inspiration for Monet, Renoir and Sisley.
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