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Lot Essay
‘Studies of roses, in particular, began to appear, forming the first of a series of rose pictures which he continued to produce throughout the years, changing as his style developed but invariably fine. When he selected his flowers or fruit from a painter's point of view he presented a new problem to the Edinburgh florists. They did not always understand when he rejected a lemon for its form or a pear for its colour, and he remained unmoved by their protestations of ripeness or flavour.' - Stanley Cursiter, An Intimate Memoir of an Artist and of his Work, 1947, p. 54.
More than any other member of the Scottish Colourists, Peploe was influenced by the radical work of the Cubists and Fauves and he developed a way of painting more closely akin to that of Cézanne with his bold colour and delineated tone. The European influence was clearly manifested in the saturated colours and flattened perspectives of his mature still life paintings. 'A simplification of modelling with a consequent emphasis on pattern. Both the patterns made by the shapes of the objects in these paintings - jug, fruit, bowl, chair - and the flat decorative patterns of the pieces of cloth used as drapes in the background combine to create an overall abstract design, which is the true subject of the painting' (R. Billcliffe, The Scottish Colourists, 1989, p. 43). Flowers and Fruit portrays Peploe’s mastery of the simple but stunning qualities of colour and form in this startling composition.
Flowers and Fruit was painted around 1920 and is among the finest examples of Peploe's still life paintings. The studio props of blue and white porcelain, laquered fans, and brightly contrasting fabric drapery link the series of still lifes of this period. They are recognisable for their saturated primary colours and are more complex in arrangement than earlier examples. Around this period, Peploe painted a series of striking still lifes of roses, remarkable for their bright colouring and bold compositions and evocative of the modernism of the unfolding Age of Jazz. Peploe had used colour at its highest pitch since his return to Scotland after working in France in 1913. At first, he painted bold, colourful still lifes and landscapes in which primary tones were emphasised by strong black outlines and the juxtaposition of bright colours placed side by side was used to convey an intensity in his work. `The main impression gathered from [Peploe’s] paintings is of colour, intense colour, and colour in its most colourful aspect. One is conscious of material selected for inclusion in still-life groups because of its colourful effect; reds, blues, and yellows are unmistakably red, blue and yellow; the neutrals are black and white’ (S. Cursiter, Peploe: An intimate memoir of an artist and his work, 1947, p. 43).
By this period in his career Peploe was an established artist with a fully rounded sense of his artistic aims. His paintings were confidently bold in execution and composition, rhythmic in arrangement and vibrant in colour. The paintings of flowers mark the epitome of his still life paintings of this period in which the angles created by the stems of the roses and the edges of books and closed fans are contrasted by the softer voluptuous curves of ripe fruit and the contours of porcelain. In the present work more angles are created by the edge of the tablecloth, and backdrop drapes add another element of contrast
Flowers and Fruit is a virtuoso performance in a stylized Cézannesque mannerism and a lesson in compositional harmony. What can seem to be spontaneous placement of everyday objects is in fact, a carefully considered construction set out to intensify the rigour of the design, complemented and relieved by saturated colour and passages of white. To emphasise the vibrancy of his colours, Peploe’s canvases of this period were primed with a white gesso, creating a clean base to display the pigments. In the present work, Peploe has employed a combination of chromatic harmonies in accordance with colour theory: the flame-coloured, orb-like oranges complement the cobalt blue and emerald green tablecloth, just as the blush pink and white tones of the creamy roses work in harmony with the deep black and acid yellow background drapery behind them.
‘The main impression gathered from [Peploe’s] paintings is of colour, intense colour, and colour in its most colourful aspect.’ - Stanley Cursiter
More than any other member of the Scottish Colourists, Peploe was influenced by the radical work of the Cubists and Fauves and he developed a way of painting more closely akin to that of Cézanne with his bold colour and delineated tone. The European influence was clearly manifested in the saturated colours and flattened perspectives of his mature still life paintings. 'A simplification of modelling with a consequent emphasis on pattern. Both the patterns made by the shapes of the objects in these paintings - jug, fruit, bowl, chair - and the flat decorative patterns of the pieces of cloth used as drapes in the background combine to create an overall abstract design, which is the true subject of the painting' (R. Billcliffe, The Scottish Colourists, 1989, p. 43). Flowers and Fruit portrays Peploe’s mastery of the simple but stunning qualities of colour and form in this startling composition.
Flowers and Fruit was painted around 1920 and is among the finest examples of Peploe's still life paintings. The studio props of blue and white porcelain, laquered fans, and brightly contrasting fabric drapery link the series of still lifes of this period. They are recognisable for their saturated primary colours and are more complex in arrangement than earlier examples. Around this period, Peploe painted a series of striking still lifes of roses, remarkable for their bright colouring and bold compositions and evocative of the modernism of the unfolding Age of Jazz. Peploe had used colour at its highest pitch since his return to Scotland after working in France in 1913. At first, he painted bold, colourful still lifes and landscapes in which primary tones were emphasised by strong black outlines and the juxtaposition of bright colours placed side by side was used to convey an intensity in his work. `The main impression gathered from [Peploe’s] paintings is of colour, intense colour, and colour in its most colourful aspect. One is conscious of material selected for inclusion in still-life groups because of its colourful effect; reds, blues, and yellows are unmistakably red, blue and yellow; the neutrals are black and white’ (S. Cursiter, Peploe: An intimate memoir of an artist and his work, 1947, p. 43).
By this period in his career Peploe was an established artist with a fully rounded sense of his artistic aims. His paintings were confidently bold in execution and composition, rhythmic in arrangement and vibrant in colour. The paintings of flowers mark the epitome of his still life paintings of this period in which the angles created by the stems of the roses and the edges of books and closed fans are contrasted by the softer voluptuous curves of ripe fruit and the contours of porcelain. In the present work more angles are created by the edge of the tablecloth, and backdrop drapes add another element of contrast
Flowers and Fruit is a virtuoso performance in a stylized Cézannesque mannerism and a lesson in compositional harmony. What can seem to be spontaneous placement of everyday objects is in fact, a carefully considered construction set out to intensify the rigour of the design, complemented and relieved by saturated colour and passages of white. To emphasise the vibrancy of his colours, Peploe’s canvases of this period were primed with a white gesso, creating a clean base to display the pigments. In the present work, Peploe has employed a combination of chromatic harmonies in accordance with colour theory: the flame-coloured, orb-like oranges complement the cobalt blue and emerald green tablecloth, just as the blush pink and white tones of the creamy roses work in harmony with the deep black and acid yellow background drapery behind them.
‘The main impression gathered from [Peploe’s] paintings is of colour, intense colour, and colour in its most colourful aspect.’ - Stanley Cursiter