Small Meadows in Spring - By

This 1880 National Gallery canvas shows small meadows in spring at By — a hamlet near Moret-sur-Loing where Sisley lived from 1880. Having moved from Sèvres to the Forest of Fontainebleau region, he was beginning the Moret chapter of his career that would occupy him for the rest of his life. Spring meadows with their fresh growth and varied light offered one of his most characteristic subjects. The National Gallery's Sisley is among the finest in the world, reflecting the particular strength of British collecting in French Impressionism, perhaps encouraged by Sisley's English birth and the affinity many British collectors felt for his restrained, atmospheric style.

The spring meadows are rendered through varied greens and pale ochres, with the sky carrying soft blues and cream-white cloud. Sisley's touch is fluid and responsive, with horizontal marks for the flat meadow surface and more varied strokes for vegetation. His characteristic atmospheric spaciousness is established through the wide sky above.