The Chemin des Petits-Prés in By. Thunderstorm weather

Painted in 1880, this canvas at the Munich Central Collecting Point shows the Chemin des Petits-Prés at By in thunderstorm weather — an unusual subject for Impressionism, which typically sought pleasant atmospheric conditions. Sisley's willingness to paint approaching storm conditions demonstrates his commitment to atmospheric variety beyond the merely beautiful. Thunderstorm weather, with its dramatic darkening sky, heightened contrasts, and the charged quality of pre-storm light, required a completely different approach from his usual luminous palette. This canvas belongs to his early Moret-region period when he was exploring the character of the By landscape.

Thunderstorm conditions create a dramatically different palette from Sisley's usual luminous work — dark, brooding sky pressing down on the landscape, with the path and vegetation rendered in cooler, more saturated tones. The approaching storm is conveyed through tonal contrast: dark sky against pale ground, charged atmospheric heaviness.