A pencil drawing after this picture appears near the beginning of a sketchbook that Sisley kept as a record of his work from November 1883 to the summer of 1885 (Musée du Louvre, Paris). The drawing bears an inscription that identifies the site as the road from Moret to Sainte-Mammès, which runs along the Loing River; the water is just visible at lower left. Sisley established himself in this area, on the edge of the Forest of Fontainebleau, in 1880, and was captivated by its "quite picturesque views." He settled permanently in Moret in 1889.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:The Road from Moret to Saint-Mammès
Artist:Alfred Sisley (British, Paris 1839–1899 Moret-sur-Loing)
Date:1883–85
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:19 7/8 x 24 1/4 in. (50.5 x 61.5 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Bequest of Joan Whitney Payson, 1975
Object Number:1976.201.18
The Painting: The move away from the Paris region in 1880 must have been difficult for Alfred Sisley: he was not doing his best work, had few clients, and was probably forced to find a cheaper lifestyle for his family. However, this picture, painted several years later, is exceptionally calm and cheerful, suggesting that he was at home in the landscape. The white cottage with its red roof and balcony sits between the water—barely visible at left—and the thoroughfare, with no room to spare. A woman stands by the house. Two people have stopped on the road, which is warmed by the sun, and a third approaches from the right. The foliage is painted in a variety of dense summer greens with light glancing through the trees. The composition of the painting is set down in a pencil sketch in Sisley’s only complete drawings album, that from the Moreau-Nélaton collection (Musée du Louvre, Paris).[1] The sheet shows fewer figures and fewer trees, and the effect is flatter, with loose scribbly pencil work spread evenly over the surface. The shadows are marked in both painting and sketch, and, in both, the light falls from left to right. Sisley indicated that he began to use the notebook in November 1883 and he continued to do so through 1885. He took note of the locations in his sketch titles. The subject here is of such simplicity that it would otherwise have been unidentifiable.
Drawings: Although he is not generally thought of as a draftsman, Sisley left various miscellaneous works on paper: a few single sheets in pencil or colored crayon, several pastels, and two sketchbooks (one, incomplete, appeared in 2019 on the London art market, and the other is the Moreau-Nélaton album). Most of the drawings and pastels date after the artist’s departure from Sèvres, a suburb of Paris, to the village of Veneux-Nadon, between the forest of Fontainebleau and the confluence of the Loing and Seine rivers. The area was about two hours away by train in a relatively remote, undeveloped part of the country. Veneux and Les Sablons, where he also lived, are near Moret-sur-Loing, which was joined by a road running along the Loing river to the nearby town of Saint Mammès on the opposite bank.
Katharine Baetjer 2020
[1] The album (RF 11596) contains 61 mauve sheets measuring 12 x 19.5 cm, and the drawing—inscribed, upper right, in pencil, “la route de Moret / à St Mammès”—is sheet 8, recto. On the interior of the cloth-covered board binding, the artist noted “Croquis / Novembe 1883 / Sisley.”
Inscription: Signed (lower right): Sisley.
?[Ambroise Vollard, Paris]; Jules Strauss, Paris (until 1902; his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, May 3, 1902, no. 54, for Fr 5,500, to Shumann); Mme S . . . . , Paris (until d.; her estate sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, January 18, 1934, no. 9, for Fr 23,100 to Schoeller); [André Schoeller, Paris, from 1934]; Arnold Sontag, Geneva (until 1956; sold with Pissarro's "Rue de l'Hermitage, Pontoise" on April 23 for $24,000 to Knoedler); [Knoedler, Paris and New York, 1956–57; stock no. A6329; sold February 12 for $21,600 to Payson]; Joan Whitney Payson, New York and Manhasset (1957–d. 1975)
Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art. "From Goya to Wyeth: The Joan Whitney Payson Collection," September 13–October 12, 1980, no. 28 (as "La route de Moret à Sainte-Mammès").
Tokyo. Isetan Museum of Art. "From Goya to Wyeth: The Joan Whitney Payson Collection," October 17–December 9, 1980, no. 28.
François Daulte. Alfred Sisley: Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint. Lausanne, 1959, unpaginated, no. 500, ill., dates it 1883, on the basis of a drawing of the same subject, no. 8, in one of Sisley's drawing books in the Cabinet des dessins (Musée du Louvre, Paris).
Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 465, ill.
Sylvie Brame and François Lorenceau. Alfred Sisley: Catalogue critique des peintures et des pastels. Lausanne, 2021, pp. 214, 466, 550, no. 533, ill. (color), as "La route de Monet-sur-Loing à Saint-Mammès" and dates it about 1883.
Alfred Sisley (British, Paris 1839–1899 Moret-sur-Loing)
probably 1879
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.