Images

A c. 1880 oil on canvas, The Cup of Tea, by Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), the American impressionist painter. Keen to capture everyday life, the model here is the artist's sister Lydia. This work was selected by Cassatt to be shown in the Sixth...

An 1878 oil on canvas, A Portrait of the Artist, by Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), the American impressionist painter. One of only two self-portraits by the artist. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

A map illustrating the rise and expansion of the Mauryan empire, the first pan-Indian empire that covered most of India and parts of present-day Iran. Chandragupta Maurya, the first ruler, seized the opportunity created by the power vacuum...

An 1874 oil on canvas painting, Monet Painting in His Studio Boat, by Edouard Manet (1832-83), the French modernist painter. Claude Monet (1840-1926) took the impressionist ideal of painting outdoors one step further and built himself a floating...

An 1870 oil on canvas, Bazille's Studio, by Frédéric Bazille (1841-1870), the French impressionist painter. The impressionists used their own studios to show works to their friends. Here in Bazille's studio, Edouard Manet (1832-1883), holding...

An 1880 oil on canvas, A Woman in Black at the Opera, by Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), the American impressionist painter. Female impressionists like Cassatt had a different choice of subject than their male counterparts, often focussing on feminine...

A c. 1874 oil on canvas, The Arceuil Aqueduct at Sceaux Railroad Crossing, by Armand Guillaumin (1841-1927), the French impressionist painter. The impressionists were eager to show the new industrial architecture of the age, such as railway...

An 1871 oil on wood, Nocturne in Blue and Green: Chelsea, by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), the American painter.

An 1885-6 oil on canvas, The Two Milliners, by Paul Signac (1863-1935), the French impressionist painter. This austere depiction of two milliners in a highly-organised composition was another challenge to the more traditional impressionist...

An 1874 oil on canvas, The Regatta at Molesey, by Alfred Sisley (1839-1899), the Franco-British impressionist painter. Painted at Molesey near Hampton Court, Sisley here captures the impression of flags caught in a breeze. The artist wrote...