The painting “Regata at Hampton Court” is an Impressionist oil on canvas artwork created by Alfred Sisley in 1874. Measuring 45.5 x 61 cm, this landscape painting captures the lively atmosphere of a regatta. The artwork belongs to the collection of the E.G. Bührle Foundation in Zürich, Switzerland.
In the artwork, the regatta scene unfolds with a sense of immediacy and vibrancy that is characteristic of the Impressionist movement. The reflections of the boats and the dappled sunlight on the water suggest a shimmering, changing surface. Sisley’s use of light, loose brushstrokes gives a sense of movement to both the water and the spectator-filled shore. The composition is balanced with a large tree anchoring the left side and a spread of open sky above, which reflects the transient effects of light and color. The bustling figures, both on land and in the boats, are rendered in a manner that emphasizes the fleeting nature of the moment, a common theme in Impressionist works. The painting captures the joy and dynamism of a leisurely day by the river, a subject matter that Sisley and his contemporaries often favored to explore the interplay of natural light, color, and form.
