Was the painter Alfred Sisley actually a rower?
Henry Law
puzzled, to find that the impressionist painter Alfred Sisley (French,
though born of English parents) had painted a picture of a regatta at
Molesey in 1874. It wasn't the only regatta painting he did, either:
there's another of Hampton Court though I've not seen it. Here's a link
to an image of the Molesey one
http://www.abcgallery.com/S/sisley/sisley22.html
... not a black strip in sight, I notice :-) Out of interest I Googled
to see if the painter was himself an oarsman, or for some other reason
why he should paint so comparatively unusual a subject but found
nothing. Anyone know more? Not important, in the grand scheme of things.
For some reason it reminds me of an occasion a few years ago when,
browsing in a flea market in Lucca, not far from Pisa, I came upon a cup
from Marlow RC, for coxed fours, last awarded some time in the 20s. I
passed on but have ever since wished I'd bought it and tried to return
it to the club.
--
Henry Law <>< Manchester, England
Alistair Potts
* Bridge at Hampton Court, 1874 (Wallraf Reichartz Museum, Cologne,
Germany). Shows double sculls and lots of moored boats. The view is
looking north; the hotel is extant. A personal favourite.
* The Road from Hampton Court, 1874 (Private collection). The view is
from the northern bank looking toward the present-day Thames Ditton
skiff club. May or may not show a rowing boat it's a bit, er,
impressionistic.
* The Road to Hampton Court, 1875 (Neue Pinakothek, Munich, Germany)
Depicts a coxed double pleasure boat. I'm really not sure where this is
painted from, which frustrates me. The River Mole has been considerably
re-routed since the date of painting.
* Retatta at Hampton Court, 1874 (E.G. Buhrle Foundation Collection,
Zurich, Switzerland). Not as exciting as it sounds. Mostly pleasure
boats. Looking south from the north bank of the river.
* Regatta at Molesey 1874 (Musee D'Orsay, Paris) Seminal Impressionist
painting. Racing eights. But where is it exactly? It's very difficult to
say, but we may be looking at the finish line at the top of the island.
The regatta was definitely above the lock in those days (as today). The
houseboats mean you can't really see the island any more.
* Under the Bridge at Hampton Court, 1874 (Kunstmuseum, Winterthur,
Switzerland) Two doubles racing. Looking south. This is the old iron
bridge (1866) which was replaced with the current elegant bridge by
Lutyens (1933).
* Inn at East Molesey with Hampton Court Bridge, 1874 (Private).
Currently there's no building here; this plot is by the station and
there has been a what-shall-we-build-here debate for years. There's a
few moored boats poking into the picture.
* Molesey Weir Hampton Court, 1874 (National Galleries of Scotland,
Edinburgh, UK) This scene is almost unchanged, except for the death-wish
bathers larking about on the weir. No boats.
You can find rowing boats (mostly pleasure boats) in a number of Sisly
french paintings too. As is the case with lots of Impressionist
painters. They were drawn to water for the obvious play of light on
water. Obviously Sisly was in the Molesey area in 1874/75, but I don't
know why, nor of any connection with rowing. I reckon there was just a
lot of it going on.
A
Alistair Potts
at Hampton Court", and "Regatta at Hampton Court" were (on closer
inspection) all painted from pretty much the same spot on the _south_
bank. Which means that the building you can see, in the entrance grounds
of the palace, must have gone. Nowadays, you'll usually there's an ice
cream van there.
It also means that all three were painted in the late afternoon. Lazy Sisly.