From the late 19th to early 20th century, Paris and its surroundings were at the centre of the art world. In order to demonstrate the wide-reaching influence of French art, we have paired French paintings with British examples. We explore three key strands of this French influence: painting directly from nature, depicting real people engaged in everyday tasks and painting techniques. In 1874, a group of artists with similar aims exhibited together in what is now known as the First Impressionist Exhibition. Prior to this, French artists had begun to experiment with painting out of doors. Artists who painted the landscape around Barbizon, south-east of Paris, paved the way for the Impressionists.
La falaise à Fécamp, France 1881
Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Oil on canvas
H 65 x W 81.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
A Ground Swell, Carradale, Argyll 1883–1886
William McTaggart (1835–1910)
Oil on canvas
H 82 x W 123.8 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Japanese Anemones 1884
Henri Fantin-Latour (1836–1904)
Oil on canvas
H 58.2 x W 38.3 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
George Leslie Hunter (1877–1931)
Oil on board
H 46.2 x W 34.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Les laveuses (The Washerwomen) 1873
Charles-François Daubigny (1817–1878)
Oil on canvas
H 36 x W 59.2 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Montrose, Angus 1888
George Reid (1841–1913)
Oil on canvas
H 83.3 x W 102.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
La Roche-Guyon, France 1885–1886
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919)
Oil on canvas
H 46.5 x W 56.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Fontcreuse, France c.1934
Duncan Grant (1885–1978)
Oil on canvas
H 81.7 x W 99.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
The Gleaner 1875
Jules Breton (1827–1906)
Oil on canvas
H 73.5 x W 54.9 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Les moulières, Villerville, France (The Mussel Gatherers, Villerville, France) c.1902
Robert McGregor (1847–1922)
Oil on canvas
H 142.5 x W 97.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Going to School 1882
Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848–1884)
Oil on canvas
H 80.9 x W 59.8 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
A Frugal Meal 1888
Alexander Mackenzie (1850–1890)
Oil on canvas
H 110.5 x W 89.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Les bords du Loing, France 1897
Alfred Sisley (1839–1899)
Oil on canvas
H 54.5 x W 65.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Moonlight, Loch Lomond c.1924
George Leslie Hunter (1877–1931)
Oil on canvas
H 51 x W 61.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Une cour aux Sablons (A Courtyard in Les Sablons) 1885
Alfred Sisley (1839–1899)
Oil on canvas
H 55 x W 73.3 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
The Basket Shop, Rue St Jean, Dieppe, France c.1911–1912
Walter Richard Sickert (1860–1942)
Oil on canvas
H 50.2 x W 60.9 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
La petite place, la rue du village 1874
Alfred Sisley (1839–1899)
Oil on canvas
H 42.5 x W 55.2 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Street in Comrie, Perthshire 1902
Samuel John Peploe (1871–1935)
Oil on canvas
H 41.1 x W 51 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Armand Guillaumin (1841–1927)
Oil on canvas
H 73.6 x W 93 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Landscape, Cassis, France c.1924
Samuel John Peploe (1871–1935)
Oil on canvas
H 63.5 x W 53.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Vernonnet, paysage près de Giverny, France 1924
Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947)
Oil on canvas
H 50.3 x W 63.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell (1883–1937)
Oil on canvas
H 41 x W 48.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Position de quatrième devant sur la jambe gauche 1882–1895
Edgar Degas (1834–1917)
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums