A Taste for Impressionism: Modern French Art from Millet to Matisse

Edgar Degas, Before the Performance, ca. 1896 - 1898, National Galleries Scotland.

A Taste for Impressionism | Modern French Art from Millet to Matisse tells the story of how Scotland became home to one of the world’s greatest collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. World famous paintings include works by Van Gogh, Degas and Gauguin, offering visitors a chance to delve into this little-known aspect of Scotland’s cultural history. Other highlights include seven works by Claude Monet from across his career and, for the first time, the full set of Matisse’s vibrant Jazz prints.

The most exciting highlight is perhaps the Van Gogh self-portrait. National Galleries Scotland’s conservation team has discovered what is almost certainly a previously unknown self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh. Believed to be a first for a UK institution, the mysterious image was revealed by an x-ray taken when art conservators examined Van Gogh’s Head of a Peasant Woman of 1885 ahead of this exhibition. Visitors can see the amazing x-ray image for the first time through a specially crafted lightbox at the centre of the display.