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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.

26 artworks

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La falaise à Fécamp, France
Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
La falaise à Fécamp, France 1881
Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Oil on canvas
H 65 x W 81.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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A Ground Swell, Carradale, Argyll
Image credit: 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

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Japanese Anemones
Image credit: 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

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Anemones
Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Anemones
George Leslie Hunter (1877–1931)
Oil on board
H 46.2 x W 34.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Les laveuses (The Washerwomen)
Image credit: 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

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Montrose, Angus
Image credit: 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

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La Roche-Guyon, France
Image credit: 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

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Fontcreuse, France
© Estate of Duncan Grant. All rights reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: 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

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The Gleaner
Image credit: 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

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Les moulières, Villerville, France (The Mussel Gatherers, Villerville, France)
Image credit: 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

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Going to School
Image credit: 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

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A Frugal Meal
Image credit: 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

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Les bords du Loing, France
Image credit: 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

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Moonlight, Loch Lomond
Image credit: 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

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Une cour aux Sablons  (A Courtyard in Les Sablons)
Image credit: 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

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The Basket Shop, Rue St Jean, Dieppe, France
Image credit: 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

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La petite place, la rue du village
Image credit: 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

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Street in Comrie, Perthshire
Image credit: 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

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Les pommiers à Damiette
Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Les pommiers à Damiette 1893
Armand Guillaumin (1841–1927)
Oil on canvas
H 73.6 x W 93 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Landscape, Cassis, France
Image credit: 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

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Vernonnet, paysage près de Giverny, France
Image credit: 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

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Lunga from Iona
Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Lunga from Iona
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell (1883–1937)
Oil on canvas
H 41 x W 48.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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L'homme qui marche 1877
Auguste Rodin (1840–1917)
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Eastre, Hymn to the Sun 1924
John Duncan Fergusson (1874–1961)
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Position de quatrième devant sur la jambe gauche 1882–1895
Edgar Degas (1834–1917)
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Herakles the Archer 1908–1909
Émile Antoine Bourdelle (1861–1929)
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums