Flood at Port-Marly
1872
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 46.4 x 61 cm (18 1/4 x 24 in.) framed: 64.7 x 80 x 9.5 cm (25 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 3 3/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CF
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Accession Number
1985.64.38
Art Historical Context
Alfred Sisley’s *Flood at Port-Marly (1872) captures a dramatic moment during the great Seine River flood that inundated parts of France that winter. As a key figure in Impressionism—one of the movement’s most dedicated landscape painters—Sisley depicted the swollen waters overtaking the quaint village of Port-Marly just west of Paris. Painted en plein air in oil on canvas, this 46.4 x 61 cm work showcases the artist’s mastery of ephemeral light and atmosphere, with soft, dappled reflections on the water and misty horizons evoking nature’s raw power. Sisley’s loose brushwork and emphasis on c...
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...