General Introduction about Alfred Sisley

When we talk about great English impressionist landscape painter, we have to talk about Alfred Sisley. Alfred Sisley's English heritage and Parisian upbringing served him well as one of most typical impressionist landscape artists.

He was born in Paris, France, on October 30, 1839, to William and Felicia Sisley, cousins from England. William Sisley was the manager of a company that made artificial flowers. Despite his English name and occasional references to him as "the English Impressionist," Alfred Sisley rarely left France, and for many years had only an imperfect grasp of English. He applied twice for French citizenship but was turned down both times. Both English (SIS-lee) and French (sees-LEI) pronunciations of his name were current during his lifetime. Sisley was brought up in Paris, and in 1857 he was sent to London, England, to live with relatives, improve his English, and prepare for the business career his parents had planned for him. However, he liked painting especially landscape paintings. Sisley spent his time studying the great English landscape painters of the time, including John Constable and the proto-Impressionist J.M.W.

After Sisley made it clear to his parents that he had no intention of becoming a businessman, he entered the reputable studio of the Swiss academic painter Marc-Charles-Gabriel Gleyre (1804-1874) in 1862. Gleyre usually had about thirty to forty students, and required drawing or painting the nude model every day from 8 am to 12 noon and two hours after lunch - except on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. His constant criticism of Monet and Renoir made them fast friends. Alfred Sisley and Frédéric Bazille were open to following their classmates' unconventional directions.

The Franco-Prussian war, which broke out in 1870, intervened. It was a time of great hardship in Paris. Sisley spent some of the period in London but his father’s business was ruined. Sisley had been receiving an allowance from his father and now the artist suddenly found himself poverty-stricken, a state in which he would remain for the rest of his life. Sisley had married Eugénie Lesouezec in 1866 and the couple had two children so he was now faced with having to support his family without the means to do so.

After that, his landscape paintings were very popular among people. Unfortunately, Sisley suffered from cancer of the throat from which he eventually died at the age of 59 in his beloved village of Moret-sur-Loing. His inability to sell his works meant that had lived most of his adult life in poverty due. He had also been overshadowed by Monet, perhaps because he was less flamboyant than him, and it was only after his death that his paintings began to be in demand.

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