Canal in Autumn (Gisors) (1913): Art, History and Details

Canal in Autumn (Gisors) (1913) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Henri Le Sidaner (French, 1862–1939).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This painting depicts a canal in Gisors, a commune in Normandy, about 40 miles northwest of Paris on the river Epte. Le Sidaner painted this work in a Divisionist technique of applying pure color in large, broken strokes, often separated by areas of white or gray. Unlike the Impressionists, Le Sidaner preferred a restrained palette of delicately nuanced tones that evoke a mood of quiet mystery. His views of old canals, typically portrayed in a crepuscular or nocturnal light, and completely absent of figures, allude to the passage of time and a timeless eternity that exceeds the human life span.

Object facts

• Title: Canal in Autumn (Gisors)
• Date: 1913
• Creator attribution: Henri Le Sidaner (French, 1862–1939)
• Culture: France, early 20th century
• Type: Painting
• Technique: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: Unframed: 53.3 x 63.5 cm (21 x 25 in.)
• Collection: Mod Euro - Painting 1800-1960
• Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 2011.73

A detail from the museum

Le Sidaner often painted from memory rather than directly on site, and his subdued use of color applied in uneven brushstrokes bring a poetic, dreamlike effect to his paintings.

Collection credit

Bequest of Dr. Paul J. Vignos Jr.

Further reading listed by the museum

• Farinaux-Le Sidaner, Yann. Le Sidaner: l'oeuvre peint et grave. Paris, France: Andre Sauret, 1989.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.