Sisley is considered to be the purest of the landscape painters of the Impressionist movement because he embraced en plein air (painting outdoors) for the duration of his career. Of his almost 900 oil paintings, only a handful were still lifes or genre scenes. He preferred placid and pastoral settings over scenes depicting humans, cities, and industry, and his enduring reverence for nature led him to depict man as often present in the landscape but never a controlling force.
The Sisley Video Montage creates a peaceful ambiance as the viewer becomes immersed in its gentle settings. From a broad sweeping farm with slowly swaying trees and softly flowing clouds to a small town alongside a river with a gentle current to a seaside dock where the boats ease their way to shore, the settings are peaceful and rhythmic. Iconic pastoral images dominate the scenes: a tall, ruddy haystack; small, nondescript buildings that dot the shores; rolling hills of green and golden hues; and intermittent flocks of birds that dart playfully in out of every scene. It is distinctly Sisley.
