Canal in Autumn (Gisors)

Henri Le Sidaner, 1913

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Artist: Henri Le Sidaner (French, 1862–1939)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: Unframed: 53.3 x 63.5 cm (21 x 25 in.)
Culture: France, early 20th century
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

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.