Rest along the Stream, Edge of the Wood Alfred Sisley Buy Art Prints Now
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Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on October 14, 2023
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Resting along the Stream, Edge of the Wood is an 1878 oil on canvas painting by Alfred Sisley. The painting was done in an open field where a stream is seen protruding from the left bottom side of the paint and flowing sluggishly to the center and further into the background.

The sky above is partly visible because most of the upper part of the paint, Rest along the Stream, Edge of the Wood, is covered in a wide canopy of tall tress. Furthest in the background, which lies almost at the center of the painting, is a structure resembling a brick house. The main subject in the paint,Rest along the Stream, Edge of the Wood, is a figure of a person, seen resting against a tree, enjoying his or her time reading a book. The figure is in a white cloth, that attracts the attention of the view immediately upon viewing the painting. The lighting of the painting, Rest along the Stream, Edge of the Wood, is from a natural source, the sun. The general mood of the painting is peaceful, relaxing, and though provocative.

The colors used by the artist are harmonious and complimentary. Most of the parts are covered in green, resonating with the environment. Alfred Sisley was an Impressionist landscape artist. His paintings are mostly characterized by peace and tranquility, usually in pale shades of jungle green, pink, purple, dusty blue, and sometimes cream. The paintings mostly were done outside in the open rather than in studios to capture the transient effects of sunlight realistically. Among the people who influenced Sisly are Frederic Bazille, Claude Monet, and Pierre Auguste Renoir whom he met while studying under Marc Charles Gabriel Gleyre.

It is also highly suggested that Alfred's paintings were a result of J.M.W Turner and Jon Constables' influence on the Impressionist painter, as well as Gustave Courbet and Jean Baptiste Camille Corot. He was also inspired by the style of former modern painters Camille Pissarro and Edouard Manet. Among Sisley's work include St.Martin Canal of 1870, Early Snow at Louveciennes between 1871 and 1872, Bridge at Villeneuve la Garenne of 1872, Sentier de la Mi cote, Louveciennes of 1873, Bridge at Hampton Court of 1874 and Regatta at Hampton Court of 1874.