Indian Summer at Moret Sunday Afternoon 

Alfred Sisley painted "Indian Summer at Moret, Sunday Afternoon" during a period of significant social change in France. The late 19th century was marked by urbanization, industrialization, and a growing divide between the urban and rural experience. As an impressionist, Sisley sought to capture fleeting moments, but we must also consider his position as part of the bourgeoisie. The painting presents a serene, almost idealized view of the French countryside, a respite from the social upheaval of the cities. Yet, it also represents a form of cultural consumption, a commodification of the rural landscape for the urban gaze. Here, nature is presented as a space of leisure and recreation. How might our understanding shift if viewed through the lens of the working class, whose labor sustained the very landscape Sisley depicts? The painting invites us to consider the complex interplay between nature, class, and representation in 19th-century France.