The Watering Pond at Marly with Hoarfrost (Translation)
L'Abreuvoir à Marly - Gelée Blanche (Primary Title)

Alfred Sisley, English, active in France, 1839 - 1899 (Artist)

Educational
1876
French
oil on canvas
Unframed: 14 7/8 × 21 5/8 in. (37.78 × 54.93 cm)
Framed: 21 3/4 × 28 5/8 in. (55.25 × 72.71 cm)
83.52

Sisley began studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1862 and became acquainted with Monet, Renoir, and Bazille. They began painting together outdoors, and Sisley developed a strong propensity for conveying the atmospheric conditions he observed.


Sisley lived in Marly-le-Roi, about nine miles outside Paris, from 1875 to 1877. He painted twelve views of the watering pond there—a remnant of the 17th-century system of aqueducts, pools, and fountains that provided the landscape setting for the Château de Marly, the country retreat of Louis XIV. By the time Sisley moved to Marly, the château had been demolished and the pond functioned as a place for washing clothes and watering horses. This painting is a clear example of his restrained use of effects, which were much more subdued than those employed by fellow artists like Monet. The pale palette demonstrates his concern for faithfully representing the tranquil sky and the light of the dull winter sun as it casts its faded glow on the stucco walls and tarnished snow of the quiet suburban region.


Signed and dated lower right: "Sisley 76"
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
2019-2020: "Van Gogh Monet Degas, The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", Palazzo Zabarella, Padua, Italy, October 26, 2019 - March 1, 2020

2019-2021: Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Their Times: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN, February 2 - May 5, 2019; Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS, April 4, 2020 - January 10, 2021

2018-2019: "Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", The Frick Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, March 17 - July 15, 2018; Oklahoma Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, June 22 - September 22, 2019

Alfred Sisley (1839 – 1899): Impressionist Master, Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT, January 21 – May 21, 2017; Hôtel de Caumont, Centre d’Art, Aix-en-Provence, June 10 – October 8, 2017

Alfred Sisley, von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal, Germany, September 11, 2011 - January 29, 2012

Alfred Sisley: Poet of Impressionism, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara, Italy, February 17 - May 19, 2002; Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, June 6 - September 15, 2002; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon, October 9, 2002 - January 5, 2003

Impressionists in Winter: Effets de Neige, Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, September 19, 1998 - January 3, 1999; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, January 20 - May 2, 1999; Brooklyn Museum of Art, May 27 - August 29, 1999

Sisley, Master Impressionist, Royal Academy of Arts, London, July 1 - October 18, 1992; Musée d'Orsay, Paris, October 26, 1992 - February 7, 1993; The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, March 14 - June 13, 1993

French Paintings from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, March 17 - May 1, 1966
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC

Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.