Landscape at Louveciennes

During the days of the Paris Commune in 1871, Sisley moved to the small village of Louveciennes about thirty kilometers to the west of Paris. Except for the four-month period of his trip to England during the summer of 1874, he lived in Louveciennes until the end of 1874. During this period, he joined Monet and Renoir in the depiction of the scenery of the Seine from Argenteuil and the forests of Marly. Traces of his activity can be found in the various areas of the Ile-de-France region. During 1873, he spent most of his time in Louveciennes, where he became completely absorbed in the creation of landscapes of the village and its surrounding scenery. This work was painted in 1873 near this village. One small path cuts diagonally across an undulating field, and two figures draw the viewer's gaze into the depths of the painting and provide human interest to the scene as they stroll along this path. This landscape lacks any one element to particularly catch the viewer's attention as it spreads from the grassy verge in the foreground across fields to a forests, and then on to the hills and a broad expanse of sky. Sisley's great respect for the ordering of space can frequently be found in his early works and here can be seen in the image's exact expression of perspective. Sisley used an extremely subdued palette which allows each object to appear fresh in its subtle coloring. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no.79)