The Island of Saint-Denis
by SISLEY, Alfred, Oil on canvas, 51 x 65 cm
Sisley’s work around 1870 showed his interest in the colour impressions of trees and buildings and particularly in the shifting play of light and cloud on a landscape.
In this painting the outline, as used to define the form of an object, is avoided. The material quality is dissolved; nature becomes merely an illusion. The colours of the spectrum define the colour palette; black, for example, is hardly ever used.