Sisley (Used Hardcover) - Raymond Cogniat

Of all the impressionists who added such a brilliant chapter to the history of art in the late nineteenth century, no one was more loyal to Impressionism throughout his career than Alfred Sisley. He was not a rebel, and his life and work are lacking in what- if the word itself were not belied by his masterpieces- might be called color.
Born in Paris of English parents- a successful businessman and a charming and cultured lady- he spent a happy childhood. When it became clear that business was not his metier, they indulged him and without protest financed lessons at an art academy where he made the acquaintance of Renoir, Monet and others who were destined to become his lifelong friends. His marriage to a woman whom he adored and who bore him two children was equally smooth and untroubled. And although difficulties and disappointments marred the latter part of his life, his total and complete dedication to and immersion in his art enabled him to avoid self-pity and to continue working on the face of obstacles that might have discouraged lesser men.
What distinguishes his work from that of his fellow Impressionists is primarily its concentration on landscapes, on nature as viewed and experienced directly. His communion with the countryside was so profound that human figures do not appear in his paintings or are unimportant accessories in the composition, with less significance than the trees or even the blades of grass. He expressed himself by depicting silence rather than the rumblings of the crowd; he gives us not the superficial stirrings of a village's inhabitants, but the underlying palpitation of life which is the essence of nature. In his last book, Raymond Cogniat, the author of numerous perceptive writings on art and artists, provides readers with new insights into the art and the personality of the man who most wholly represents both the spirit and the form of the Impressionist movement and who can with good reason be considered bthe quintessential Impressionist.

Condition: Dustjacket torn. Cover, pages and binding in good condition

1119MLS