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Lot Essay
A still life of pink roses and fruit is one of the most striking of Peploe's still lifes of this period, with its carefully considered composition and strong harmonious colours. A bouquet of roses became a frequent feature and an iconic motif where as much importance is given to colour as form and composition. The delicately depicted floral arrangement in the centre, juxtaposed with the brilliantly bold, bright fruit in the foreground and strong flat application of paint to the background, creates a uniformed confident aesthetic, unifying A Still Life of Pink Roses and Fruit. Each area of colour is perfectly balanced, placed against a background or given a shadow in its complementary to give the most dramatic tonal contrast.
In 1925, the Leicester Galleries held an exhibition of all four Scottish colourists in London to which Walter Richard Sickert wrote the preface to the catalogue, his note about Peploe read: ‘Mr Peploe has carried a certain kind of delicious skill to a pitch of virtuosity that might have led to mere repetition, and his present orientation has certainly been a kind of re-birth. He has transferred his unit of attention from attenuated and exquisite graduations of tone to no less skilfully related colour. And by relating all his lines with frankness to the 180 degrees of two right angles, he is able to capture and digest a wider field of vision than before. And time, as the poet sings, is an important element in the gathering of roses. His volte-face has been an intellectual progress. And it is probably for this reason that, obviously beautiful as was Mr Peploe’s earlier quality, his present one will establish itself as the more beautiful of the two.’
In the spring of 1918, Peploe moved his studio to Shandwick Place marking the beginning of a period of high activity and ever increasing success. He had found the light in Queen Street difficult as the trees outside coloured it green. Shandwick was a large and bright space, the walls of which Peploe painted white and he scattered the studio with brightly coloured props. The layout and colour scheme of his studio is reflected in his painting technique, juxtaposing white next to strong bright colours to lend a jewel-like intensity to the pigments. It was during this time that Peploe began to spend more time with Cadell, joining him on trips to Cadell’s house on Iona. It is interesting to consider the effects of Peploe and Cadell spending a lot of time together as friends and artists working simultaneously. Their use of bright colours can be seen as a purposeful contrast to the austerity of the war years. Both artists imbue their still lifes with their individual personalities; Cadell’s interior scenes of Ainslie Place with polished and flat surfaces reflect his glamorous and dandy lifestyle. The well documented love letters from Peploe to his wife Margaret, reflect the romance that he so beautifully captures in his still lifes. The judiciously deliberated compositions echo Peploe’s thoughtful manner and calm reasoning. Whilst the two artists shared their use of colours and selection of objects; a Chinese blue and white vase, an oriental fan, flowers and fruit, both retain their own distinctive style in the same genre but imbue their works with their individual personalities.
Like Cadell, Peploe was inspired by the innovations of his French contemporaries; he had spent time in France in 1913 and would have been influenced by the non naturalistic colour and simplifications favoured by the fauvist movement. The impact of seeing these paintings is clearly visible in Peploe’s A Still Life of pink roses and fruit; the linear qualities in the background and composition of the table top with the bright use of saturated colours. The jet-black ribbon is reminiscent of Manet’s use of strong black outlines and serves to flatten the composition as influenced by Asian art and Japanese prints that had inspired the Impressionist artists. The format of A Still Life of pink roses and fruit employs the Japanese technique of using the frame to crop the composition. Peploe reused similar motifs, colours and arrangements in other works of the period. The blue and white Chinese vase and oriental fan in A Still Life of pink roses and fruit re-emerges in Peploe’s in Three pink roses in a blue vase with fruit (see lot 52 in this sale).
The present work epitomises Peploe’s vivid use of colour, considered compositional arrangements, and reworking of motifs that are recurrent throughout this period. The black and yellow backdrop is a wonderfully bold contrast to the white table top. Peploe draws our eye into the composition with the black ribbon that leads the viewer’s eye in from the foreground, echoing the dark drapery hanging on the wall at the top of the work. The use of blue outlines and shadows throughout the painting unites the work. Peploe’s goal of a perfectly balanced composition is delightfully achieved with this intense movement of colour and form across the canvas. As Peploe wrote to his beloved wife, Margaret, ‘These are the things I love – freshness of colour, movement, life’ (S.J. Peploe, quoted in G. Peploe, S.J. Peploe, London, 2000, p.20).
In 1925, the Leicester Galleries held an exhibition of all four Scottish colourists in London to which Walter Richard Sickert wrote the preface to the catalogue, his note about Peploe read: ‘Mr Peploe has carried a certain kind of delicious skill to a pitch of virtuosity that might have led to mere repetition, and his present orientation has certainly been a kind of re-birth. He has transferred his unit of attention from attenuated and exquisite graduations of tone to no less skilfully related colour. And by relating all his lines with frankness to the 180 degrees of two right angles, he is able to capture and digest a wider field of vision than before. And time, as the poet sings, is an important element in the gathering of roses. His volte-face has been an intellectual progress. And it is probably for this reason that, obviously beautiful as was Mr Peploe’s earlier quality, his present one will establish itself as the more beautiful of the two.’
In the spring of 1918, Peploe moved his studio to Shandwick Place marking the beginning of a period of high activity and ever increasing success. He had found the light in Queen Street difficult as the trees outside coloured it green. Shandwick was a large and bright space, the walls of which Peploe painted white and he scattered the studio with brightly coloured props. The layout and colour scheme of his studio is reflected in his painting technique, juxtaposing white next to strong bright colours to lend a jewel-like intensity to the pigments. It was during this time that Peploe began to spend more time with Cadell, joining him on trips to Cadell’s house on Iona. It is interesting to consider the effects of Peploe and Cadell spending a lot of time together as friends and artists working simultaneously. Their use of bright colours can be seen as a purposeful contrast to the austerity of the war years. Both artists imbue their still lifes with their individual personalities; Cadell’s interior scenes of Ainslie Place with polished and flat surfaces reflect his glamorous and dandy lifestyle. The well documented love letters from Peploe to his wife Margaret, reflect the romance that he so beautifully captures in his still lifes. The judiciously deliberated compositions echo Peploe’s thoughtful manner and calm reasoning. Whilst the two artists shared their use of colours and selection of objects; a Chinese blue and white vase, an oriental fan, flowers and fruit, both retain their own distinctive style in the same genre but imbue their works with their individual personalities.
Like Cadell, Peploe was inspired by the innovations of his French contemporaries; he had spent time in France in 1913 and would have been influenced by the non naturalistic colour and simplifications favoured by the fauvist movement. The impact of seeing these paintings is clearly visible in Peploe’s A Still Life of pink roses and fruit; the linear qualities in the background and composition of the table top with the bright use of saturated colours. The jet-black ribbon is reminiscent of Manet’s use of strong black outlines and serves to flatten the composition as influenced by Asian art and Japanese prints that had inspired the Impressionist artists. The format of A Still Life of pink roses and fruit employs the Japanese technique of using the frame to crop the composition. Peploe reused similar motifs, colours and arrangements in other works of the period. The blue and white Chinese vase and oriental fan in A Still Life of pink roses and fruit re-emerges in Peploe’s in Three pink roses in a blue vase with fruit (see lot 52 in this sale).
The present work epitomises Peploe’s vivid use of colour, considered compositional arrangements, and reworking of motifs that are recurrent throughout this period. The black and yellow backdrop is a wonderfully bold contrast to the white table top. Peploe draws our eye into the composition with the black ribbon that leads the viewer’s eye in from the foreground, echoing the dark drapery hanging on the wall at the top of the work. The use of blue outlines and shadows throughout the painting unites the work. Peploe’s goal of a perfectly balanced composition is delightfully achieved with this intense movement of colour and form across the canvas. As Peploe wrote to his beloved wife, Margaret, ‘These are the things I love – freshness of colour, movement, life’ (S.J. Peploe, quoted in G. Peploe, S.J. Peploe, London, 2000, p.20).