Artwork
First Snow at Veneux-Nadon
First Snow at Veneux-Nadon is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Alfred Sisley. It dates from 1878 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
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- Inscribed:lower left: Sisley.
About this work
Snow covers the roofs of a quiet village, a lone tree at the center and a house with dark green shutters that stand out against the white. Sisley painted it near Paris in 1878. The snow isn't only white but pink and blue too, catching color from the sky, with paint laid on thick to give the ground a bumpy surface.
Technique & Style
Alfred Sisley executed First Snow at Veneux-Nadon in oil on canvas, a medium consistent with his mature Impressionist practice.
Alfred Sisley executed First Snow at Veneux-Nadon in oil on canvas, a medium consistent with his mature Impressionist practice. The relatively modest dimensions of the support, measuring 49.2 by 65.2 centimeters, are typical of the intimate landscape format he favored for plein-air studies of the Veneux-Nadon area. The composition centers on a house and surrounding trees rendered with the loose, atmospheric handling characteristic of Sisley's late 1870s winter scenes, in which broken brushwork and a restrained, cool palette convey the transient effects of early snowfall.
The painting is classified as a landscape and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., following its 1983 partial gift and 2015 completed gift from Lili-Charlotte Sarnoff.
History & Provenance
Alfred Sisley executed First Snow at Veneux-Nadon in 1878. The artist retained the work until January 28, 1881, when it entered the inventory of the dealer Paul Durand-Ruel. Durand-Ruel sold the painting to collector Henri Vever on July 19, 1892.
Following Vever's sale at Galerie Georges Petit in February 1897, Durand-Ruel repurchased the canvas, only to resell it days later to François Depeaux of Rouen. The work subsequently passed through the collections of Adolphe A. Tavernier, who sold it in March 1900, and Charles L. de Hèle, whose estate auctioned it in Amsterdam in 1911. Later owners included Louis Koch in Frankfurt and Robert von Hirsch in Basel by 1957.
Ultimately, the painting was inherited by Lili-Charlotte Sarnoff, who initiated a partial gift to the National Gallery of Art in 1983, finalizing the transfer in 2015. Robert von Hirsch lent the work to a show in Basel in 1957.
Context
The 1878 landscape by Alfred Sisley, First Snow at Veneux-Nadon, exemplifies his late Impressionist focus on atmospheric effects and rural domesticity, situating the work within his broader oeuvre of French countryside scenes. Its provenance traces a chain from the artist through Durand-Ruel, Henri Vever, François Depeaux, and later owners to the National Gallery of Art, reflecting 19th- and 20th-century market movements. The work was lent to a 1957 exhibition in Basel by Robert von Hirsch, and is recognized as a characteristic example of Sisley's mature winter scenes.
Overview
Alfred Sisley's First Snow at Veneux-Nadon, an oil on canvas from 1878, exemplifies his dedication to Impressionist landscape painting. This work captures a serene, snow-covered rural scene near Paris, characteristic of his output. As a French-born British artist active in France, Sisley consistently focused on depicting natural light and atmospheric conditions, distinguishing his approach within the broader Impressionist movement through his sustained engagement with outdoor scenes.
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays a tranquil winter day in the village of Veneux-Nadon, featuring a house and a solitary tree enveloped in fresh snow. Sisley aimed to render the subtle effects of light on an everyday landscape. The scene conveys a sense of quietude, with soft, diffused light illuminating the simple architectural forms and natural elements. Details like the dark green shutters provide a visual accent against the dominant white of the snow.
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Artist
Alfred Sisley (; French:; 30 October 1839–29 January 1899) was a French-Born British Impressionist landscape painter who was born to British parents, but spent most of his life in France.
