Orchard 1885

Alfred Sisley made this evocative pastel drawing, Orchard, at an unknown date. Sisley, of British descent, lived and worked in France, and though he exhibited with the Impressionists, he always maintained a certain reserve, often excluded from accounts of the group’s history. Here, loose strokes of color define a grove of trees. Browns and greens are punctuated by touches of blue and yellow which give the landscape a feeling of fleeting light and atmosphere. Sisley focused on landscapes throughout his career, portraying the nuances of light and weather with great sensitivity. He rarely depicted the rapidly changing urban life of Paris that his peers favoured. Instead, he consistently turned to the countryside. Despite his focus on the natural world, Sisley’s paintings were not untouched by the social and political realities of his time. As the son of a businessman, he lived a comfortable life until his father’s business failed. Like the orchard, we see here, life is not always in bloom, sometimes, it’s just a sketch in pastel.