“Tate Britain brings together over 100 beautiful works by Monet, Tissot, Pissarro and others in the first large-scale exhibition to chart the stories of French artists who sought refuge in Britain during the Franco-Prussian War. The EY Exhibition: Impressionists in London, French Artists in Exile (1870-1904) maps the artistic networks they built in Britain, considers the aesthetic impact London had on the artists’ work, and presents instantly recognisable views of the city as seen through French eyes.

The EY Exhibition: Impressionists in London looks at French painters’ keen observations of British culture and social life, which were notably different to the café culture found in Paris. Evocative depictions of figures enjoying London parks such as Pissarro’s Kew Green 1892 are shown, that were in stark contrast to formal French gardens where walking on the grass was prohibited. Scenes of regattas fringed with bunting as painted by Alfred Sisley and James Tissot in The Ball on Shipboard c.1874 are also displayed, demonstrating how British social codes and traditions captured the imagination of the Impressionists at the time.” — Tate Britain

Claude Monet (1840-1926). Houses of Parliament, Sunlight Effect, 1903. Oil paint on canvas, 813 x 921 mm. Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York

Claude Monet (1840-1926). Londres, le Parlement. Trouée de soleil dans le brouillard, 1904. Oil paint on canvas, 815 x 925 mm. Musée d’Orsay

Alfred Sisley (1839 – 1899). Molesey Weir, Hampton Court, Morning, 1874. Oil paint on canvas, 511 x 688 mm. National Galleries of Scotland (Edinburgh UK)

Claude Monet (1840 – 1926). Leicester Square, 1901. Oil paint on canvas, 805 x 648 mm. Coll. Fondation Jean et Suzanne Planque (in deposit at Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence) Photo: © Luc Chessex

Camille Pissarro (1830 – 1903). Kew Green, 1892. Oil paint on canvas, 460 x 550 mm. Musee d’Orsay (Paris, France)

Camille Pissarro (1830 – 1903). Saint Anne’s Church at Kew, London, 1892. Oil paint on canvas, 548 x 460 mm. Private collection

Camille Pissarro
. Charing Cross Bridge, 
1890. 
Oil paint on canvas, 
600 x 924 mm. 
National Gallery of Art (Washington, USA)

James Tissot (1836-1902). The Ball on Shipboard, c.1874. Oil paint on canvas, 1012 x 1476 x 115 mm. Tate. Presented by the Trustees of the Chantrey Bequest 1937

The EY Exhibition: Impressionists in London, French Artists in Exile (1870-1904) is curated by Dr. Caroline Corbeau-Parsons in collaboration with the Petit Palais and Paris Musées.

Images courtesy Tate Britain.