Beyond the Frame

Mary Cassatt walked into an artistic rebellion and became one of the three great ladies ‘Les Trois grandes dammes’ of the Impressionist movement. She made such an impact on the movement, that her work was described at the time as ‘as good as a man’s.’ Which is a reminder of the difficulty female artists faced, but how highly regarded she was during the movement.

Impressionism is very much about the mom...

Apple, with many other fruits at a market stall, from Gustave Caillebotte’s Fruit Displayed on a Stand was the inspiration for a truly impressionist notion, why not paint a still life of something you would paint indoors, outdoors? And rather than paint the outdoor scenario, it’s the inside of the stall… the style en plen air, while simultaneously à l'intérieur! 

Doesn’t seem rebellious, ...

Paul Cezanne was an artist who often took the road less travelled, turning his back on the artistic norms of the time, and instead, shifted his gaze and brush to peculiar vantage points of his muse. Cezanne’s Turn in the Road wasn’t the turn in his career that he may have hoped, the artistic roads of change are winding, and because of this, Cezanne’s work wasn’t celebrated until after his death. Eventually, ...

Claude Monet got into repetition in a big way. Toward the end of the 1800s, he painted a series of 15 "grainstacks". Enormous stacks of hay, wheat, barley or anything else that was growing within walking distance of Monet's house. An act of creative freedom that turned Monet into a prolific artist.

He was as business savvy as he was talented - you could call Monet the Ken Done of his time. 

See Grainstack (Snow Effect) here - ...

Edgar Degas was one of the founding members of impressionism,  He hated the term “impressionism” and didn’t want a label. All his paintings were created from memory and imagination – he loved to say that “no art can be less spontaneous than mine.”

Racehorses at Longchamp - a painting of jockeys on their horses hanging about the track at the end of a race was interestingly Degas first work to...

HSBC proudly presents “Beyond the Frame” a look behind the bigger picture of some of the world’s most important Impressionist art. In this season we’re looking at the rebellion of the French Impressionists – it wasn’t all dreamy brushwork, but a movement that was rife with bravery, breaking stereotypes and smashing perceptions.  

Across this series we go back 150 years to discover some ...