St. Martin's Summers, near Moret-sur-Loing
Alfred Sisley·1891
Historical Context
St. Martin's Summers, near Moret-sur-Loing from 1891 at the Musée Marmottan Monet captures the warm autumn days that occur in France after the first frosts — the Indian summer known as the Saint Martin's summer, arriving around November 11th. Sisley loved this brief return of warmth in the autumn landscape, the light having a particular mellow quality different from both summer and winter. The Marmottan's collection of this work alongside Monet's provides an implicit comparison between the two painters' approaches to the same seasonal moment.
Technical Analysis
Autumn's warmer palette distinguishes this canvas from Sisley's summer and winter works — ochres and russets in the landscape vegetation, the light more golden and raking than summer's direct overhead illumination. The Loing's surface reflects these warm tones, the autumn sky's particular quality of light softening the entire color range.
