The Road in the Woods

1879

Alfred Sisley

Associated Names
Alfred Sisley

Artist, French, 1839 - 1899

This painting depicts a scene where a winding path on the bottom left leads into a wooded area. Tall green trees occupy the left side of the painting, while on the right a small gap shows a hilly, dark blue horizon line with more green foliage and the red roof of a building. The sky above is light blue with dots of white and lilac purple. Across the bottom of the painting, a wooden fence lines a light brown path that leads through the woods. Near the bottom left corner, small strokes of paint suggest two people walking along the path away from us, one adult and one child. The color palette is predominantly green with hints of light brown, along with soft blues and purples in the sky. The brushstrokes are loose and impressionistic, with paint applied in short, overlapping lines and dots.

Media Options

This object’s media is not available for download. Contact us about image usage.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 46.3 x 55.8 cm (18 1/4 x 21 15/16 in.)
    framed: 67.6 x 76.2 cm (26 5/8 x 30 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1963.10.215

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Léon Payen, Paris; (Payen sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 29 June 1916, no. 108); purchased by (Durand-Ruel, New York and Paris); sold 1919 to (Bernheim-Jeune, Paris). Lie, Norway. (Galerie Georges Petit, Paris); sold 9 June 1926 to Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York;[1] bequest 1963 to NGA.
[1]Provenance according to copies of Chester Dale papers in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1917

  • Exposition d'Oeuvres de Alfred Sisley, Galeries Georges Petit, Paris, 1917, no. 35, as Le Chemin sous bois.

1965

  • The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.

Bibliography

1929

  • Dale, Maud. Before Manet to Modigliani from the Chester Dale Collection. New York, 1929: no. 40, repro.

1942

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 57, repro.

1944

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1944: 57, repro.

1953

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1953: 67, repro.

1959

  • Daulte, Francois. Alfred Sisley, catalogue raisonne de l'oeuvre peint. Lausanne: Editions Durand-Ruel, 1959.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 123.

  • Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 102, repro.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 111, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 328, repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 511, no. 767, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 375, repro.

Inscriptions

lower right: Sisley

Wikidata ID

Q20188853

You may be interested in

Loading Results