Flood in Marly

ALFRED SISLEY (1839—1899) Flood in Marly. 1876, canvas, oil, 60 X 81
The Englishman Sisley was born and died in France. He spent his entire life here, only occasionally traveling to London. In 1862, in the studio of the academic painter Gleyre, where future Impressionists studied for a time, he met Monet, Renoir, and Bazille. Together with them, he began painting landscapes en plein air. From then on, he forever linked his fate with the Impressionists. During his lifetime, Sisley was little known; he has only recently been truly appreciated. “Flood in Marly” is one of Sisley’s best paintings.
The artist is not interested in the drama of the event, but in the task of depicting the flooded water and the gloomy skies, clouds, the stone house with a blue roof, and trees reflected in it… Sisley uses Monet’s technique, but his small brushstrokes do not scatter across the canvas—they are united into simple, clear, balanced masses. This gives the landscape the characteristic shade of calm, noble restraint and significance typical of his painting.