The Church at Moret, Evening

Sisley’s motifs and view of Nature placed him too plainly as an emulator of Monet, and he had no material distinctly his own that could have asserted his own individuality. This became most apparent when in 1893-94, parallel to Monet’s Rouen cathedral series, he painted about 15 views of the church at Moret. Like all Sisley’s later works, they are firmly painted, and evidently aim to give a rather ordinary sense of the appearance of the building instead of the veils of light and colour impressions Monet registered when looking at his cathedral. Sisley’s work focussed on the thing seen, but art was evolving towards a more subjective emphasis on configurations of colours and shapes. Monet’s cathedrals were already fetching 15,000 francs at that time, while in 1896, when one of Sisley’s church views was resold, it was for a mere 305 francs.