La Seine à Bougival (1876)

Sisley, Alfred (1839-1899)

La Seine à Bougival (The Seine at Bougival)
1876
Oil on canvas, 46.4 x 61.3 cm
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York

From 1872 to 1877, Sisley lived along the Seine just west of Paris, an area whose picturesque landscape attracted painters in his circle, including Monet and Pissarro. Sisley drew continual inspiration from the river and the surrounding countryside. In good weather, the area bustled with day-trippers, small-scale industries, and boat traffic, but in this scene, Sisley evokes the tranquility touted in period guidebooks: only a handful of people may be seen along the riverbank. The visual emphasis is on the stand of trees, arranged in a pronounced “V” shape which enlivens the composition and leads the eye into the distance. (MET)

See also:

Bougival (France)