From Publishers Weekly
This concise biographical study of impressionist painter Alfred Sisley (1839-1899) is sparklingly illustrated with 74 superb color plates that capture his works' many moods. British journalist Couldrey is nicely attuned to the paintings' calmly mysterious radiance, their understatement, liberating sense of space and sheer enjoyment of nature. Sisley, born in Paris of English parents and with a French grandmother, "was neither English nor French--he was both," asserts the author, who applies this formula to his art and personality. Without adding significant new details to the life, her sensitive portrayal reveals a dignified artist, convinced of his true worth, stoically enduring disappointments and poverty. In her own understated way, Couldrey makes a strong case that Sisley, one of the least successful and lesser-known of the impressionists, was at the very heart of French impressionism as a prime force in the circle of Renoir, Monet and Pissarro.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
