Four Geese by the River
1885–1897
Medium
Pastel on heavy cream paper
Dimensions
13 11/16 x 17 3/16 in. (34.8 x 43.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Joan Whitney Payson, 1975
Accession Number
1976.201.10
Tags
Art Historical Context
Alfred Sisley, a leading Impressionist painter known for his luminous landscapes, created *Four Geese by the River* toward the end of his career. Working in the 1880s and1890s, Sisley often turned to rivers and rural scenes near Paris to explore the changing effects of light and atmosphere. This intimate drawing captures a quiet moment along the water’s edge, where four geese gather near the pond, reflecting the artist’s lifelong fascination with nature’s subtle rhythms. Executed in pastel on heavy cream paper, the work highlights Sisley’s skill with a medium that allowed for soft, velvety te...
About the Artist
Alfred Sisley · 1839–1899
Alfred Sisley (1839–1899) was a British-born French Impressionist landscape painter who remained the most consistently devoted to pure Impressionist principles throughout his career. Born in Paris to prosperous English parents, he studied at the atelier of Charles Gleyre alongside Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Frédéric Bazille, forming friendships that placed him at the heart of the eme...