Daily Art Quote #15 (by Alfred Sisley)

pyrowngs (63)in #dailyartquote • 7 years ago

Daily Art Quote:

"Every picture shows a spot with which the artist has fallen in love."

~ Alfred Sisley

I love this quote. I think it is in most cases 100% true, especially when talking about landscapes. I believe the connection that the artist feels to the location(s) they decide to paint or draw is so important. Being or feeling inspired is critical in deciding that it is worthy of being painted. Now, this doesn't hold true for ALL landscapes. There are some instances, obviously, where the painter has been commissioned to paint something. But, even then, it is the painters job, or their goal to find beauty in that location and accentuate it. And, by doing that they are "falling in love" with it (even just a little) when they paint it - carefully choosing what colors to use, and carefully choosing what to include.

I'm not very familiar with Sisley's artwork, although I have heard of him. When looking at his paintings, it is obvious that he is an impressionist painter. He was friends with Monet and Renoir. Can you imagine these guys getting together? Wow! His style (in my opinion) is a little bit more straight-forward. He didn't seem to push the boundaries too much, like Cezanne did with his very vivid colors. Sisley's paintings are beautiful, and carefully executed. He mostly did landscapes. In many of his paintings, his brush strokes are a little smaller and more refined than some of the looser, bolder dabs of paint of Monet or Van Gogh, or even some of the later works of Cezanne. When comparing the qualities and styles of these first impressionist painters, I would say that Sisley's paintings were a little more "conservative" than some of the others. But, he was definitely right there in the impressionist movement, being influenced by and influencing others of this time & genre.

Take a look at some of his paintings (below), and if you have a chance look at some of the other painters of the time (Monet, Cezanne, Renoire, Van Gogh). What similarities and differences do you see? They all definitely had their own unique styles. Are you feeling inspired yet?

("Grand Jatte", 1873, by Alfred Sisley)

("Hoar Frost St. Martin s Summer (Indian Summer), 1874, by Alfred Sisley)

("Horses being Watered at Marly le Roi", 1875, by Alfred Sisley)

("The Flood at Port Marly", 1876, by Alfred Sisley)

("Along the Woods in Autumn", 1885, by Alfred Sisley)

("Lane of Poplars at Moret", 1888, by Alfred Sisley)

I have to say, that the more I look at his paintings, the more colorful they seem to look. So, I may have to retract what I said about him NOT using colors as vivid as Cezanne. Perhaps it's just that he used the whole spectrum of bright, vivid colors in almost every painting - but in selective areas and brushstrokes, where as Cezanne used crazy bright colors in larger areas (in some paintings). And, I'm not even sure if I agree with myself here. These (and all the impressionist paintings of these painters) seem to be alive and almost changing. They almost seem to look different every time you view them.

There is currently an exhibition of Sisley's work at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT. I took this excerpt from their website, about Sisley and his paintings: