Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(See “Tate Britain Overview” map,
here
.)
Realistic British art stood apart from the modernist trends in France, but some influences
drifted across the Channel. John Singer Sargent (American-born) studied with Parisian Im-
pressionists, learning the thick, messy brushwork and play of light at twilight. James Tis-
sot used Degas' snapshot technique to capture a crowded scene from an odd angle. And
James McNeill Whistler (born in America, trained in Paris, lived in London) composed
his paintings like music—see some of his paintings' titles. These collages of shapes and
colors please the eye like a song tickles the ear. Whistler signed his paintings with his ini-
tials in the shape of a butterfly. You may also see sophisticated works by London's own
“Bloomsbury Group,” who put a British spin on French Post-Impressionism.
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Before moving on to 20th-century art, first visit the Turner Collection. You'll find it in a
wing adjacent to the main building: Pass through the rotunda to the east side of the gal-
lery and just keep going through a few rooms till you enter The Turner Collection, housed
in the Clore Gallery.
