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Sannois is a suburb to the northwest of Paris, built on an escarpment of hills called Les Buttes du Parisis that rises above the broad plains of the winding River Seine. From this vantage point, Delance’s small landscape sketch looks far into the distance.

The artist has deftly compacted the immense depth of the three-dimensional view into a two-dimensional image. Probably painted in the open air, it is the vertical lines of slender tree-trunks that give the image its structure. Carefully positioned, they lead the eye out of the shade, down the slope and through the layers of landscape toward the far horizon.

Delance’s expressive brushwork is so loose that many areas of the panel remain uncovered. Coupled with his attention to colour and light, his technique could be described as impressionistic. Indeed, Sannois is only a few kilometres from the riverside town of Argenteuil, made famous by the Impressionist artists who painted there in the early 1870s. Yet this work was probably intended as an informal study, not as a finished work. At the time, Delance was better known for his narrative Salon paintings which were far more academic and finished.

Many of Delance’s landscapes are thought to date from after the death of his wife, Julie Delance-Feurgard (1859-1892), his former student and an accomplished artist in her own right. The loss affected him profoundly and may account for the personal nature of such works. This one was part of a collection of landscape studies to feature in an exhibition of paintings by Walter Sickert and Paul Delance in 1957, at the gallery of London dealers Roland, Browse & Delbanco. The catalogue tells us that they belonged to the artist’s daughter Alice (1888-1973), who was only four when her mother died. This was one of two panels purchased by Daphne Llewellin of Usk, who bequeathed them to the museum. The other was Beach with Seated Figures (La Côte Déserte) .

Maestref yng ngogledd-orllewin Paris yw Sannois, ar darren o fryniau o'r enw Les Buttes du Parisis sy'n codi o'r gwastatir eang lle mae Afon Seine yn gwau. O'r eisteddle hwn mae braslun bychan Delance yn edrych i'r pellter.

Mae'r artist wedi llwyddo'n gelfydd i wasgu dyfnder gwych yr olygfa dri dimensiwn i ddau ddimensiwn y paentiad, mwy na thebyg yn yr awyr agored. Llinellau fertigol y boncyffion tenau sy'n rhoi strwythur i'r ddelwedd, a'u lleoliad gofalus yn arwain y llygad o'r cysgod, i lawr y llethr, a thrwy haenau'r tirlun i'r gorwel pell.

Mae brwswaith Delance yn llawn mynegiant, ac mor rhydd nes bod sawl darn o'r panel heb lyfiad o baent. Gyda'i arsylwi manwl o liw a golau, gallai ei dechneg gael ei ddisgrifio fel un argraffiadol. Yn wir, mae Sannois ychydig gilometrau o dref Argenteuil ar lannau'r Seine a ddaeth yn enwog fel cyrchfan i artistiaid argraffiadol ddechrau'r 1870au. Mwy na thebyg taw astudiaeth frysiog oedd hon, nid gwaith gorffenedig. Ar y pryd roedd Paul Delance yn fwyaf enwog am ei baentiadau Salon naratif, oedd yn llawer mwy academaidd a chaboledig.

Credir bod y rhan fwyaf o dirluniau Delance wedi'u creu ar ôl marw ei wraig, Julie Delance-Feurgard (1859-1892) – cyn ddisgybl iddo ac artist medrus ei hun. Cafodd y golled effaith ddofn arno, gan arwain o bosib at y gweithiau mwy personol hyn. Roedd y gwaith yn rhan o gasgliad o astudiaethau tirlun a welwyd mewn arddangosfa gan Walter Sickert a Paul Delance yn oriel y gwerthwyr Roland, Browse & Delbanco yn Llundain ym 1957. Yn y catalog gwelwn ei bod yn eiddo i ferch yr artist, Alice (1888-1973), oedd yn bedair pan fu farw ei mam. Mae'r gwaith hwn yn un o ddau a brynwyd gan Daphne Llewellin o Frynbuga, a'u gadawodd i'r Amgueddfa mewn cymynrodd. Y gwaith arall oedd Traeth gyda Ffigurau Eisteddog (La Côte Déserte) .