![Alfred Sisley - A Windy Day at Veneux [1882]](http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3841/14697654309_fe04716be2_o.jpg)
One of Sisley's favourite spots was Veneux, near Moret-sur-Loing in the Ile-de-France, where he lived from 1880 to 1882. An overcast sky creates unique effects of light and air and it was this which attracted the artist and which he managed to convey whilst still using mainly light, bright tones, the pearly-grey colour scheme containing a multiplicity of vibrant nuances. The fluid, free brushstrokes follow the direction of the wind, conveying the swaying of the trees and the movement of the clouds.
The Impressionist's keen eye catches the finest nuances of change in the sky, the most reliable and expressive reflection of changes in the weather. There is an intimacy and poetry in this landscape which is found in all of Sisley's work, and in this he is perhaps the true heir to the elegiac landscapes of Camille Corot.
[Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg - Oil on canvas, 60 x 81 cm]