Village Street Louveciennes 1874

Alfred Sisley, a British artist working in France, painted "Village Street Louveciennes" using oil on canvas. Sisley was one of the key figures in the Impressionist movement, a group of artists often criticized for not engaging with the socio-political issues of their time. As the son of affluent business people, Sisley lived a life of relative financial comfort. The Impressionists often focused on landscapes and scenes of everyday life, yet these scenes often reflected the experiences of the middle and upper classes. Look at the buildings and the people depicted in "Village Street Louveciennes." There’s a quietness, a lack of the industrial grit that marked the lives of the working class at this time. Sisley's paintings invite us to consider whose stories are being told and whose are being left out. While beautiful, they also reflect a particular slice of society, one far removed from the struggles of many during the late 19th century.