Details

Object type

painting

Title

Roses

Artist/Maker

Samuel John Peploe artist

Culture/School

Scottish Colourists

Place Associated

Britain, Scotland, Edinburgh (place made)

Date

circa 1920

Materials

oil on canvas

Dimensions

framed: 670 x 570 x 68 mm;unframed: 503 mm x 404 mm x 16 mm

Description

Still life composition of roses in a Chinese vase arranged on a table with two oranges in a bowl at the back, a fan and letter at left and a notepad with another rose, fruit and drapery in the front. Although the painting might appear at first as full of vibrant colours, there are actually very few, and it is especially the bright red of the tablecloth that is activated by the predominating cold tones of white and blue and that illuminates the composition and fills it with dynamic energy. Signed at lower right.

Throughout Peploe’s entire career, he seldom deviated from his consistent artistic aim, which was to discover the perfect way to paint a still-life, a fact he confirmed in 1929, when he declared, ‘There is so much in mere objects, flowers, leaves, jugs, what not – colours, forms, relations – I can never see the mystery coming to an end’.

Peploe’s early still life paintings are quite sombre in colour when he was very much influenced by Velazquez and 17th century Dutch painters such as Frans Hals, but this is a typical still life of Peploe’s late period where the handling of the paint is fresh and the colours bright, a feature of the work of all four Scottish Colourists (Peploe, Fergusson, Cadell and Hunter). Influenced by Cézanne and Matisse, Peploe arranged this still life on a table top set against the background of draperies. He uses the same motifs time and time again – flowers, usually roses or tulips, a plate or a bowl, sometimes a piece of fruit, and occasionally a fan or a book completes the arrangement. This is an exercise in balanced composition and careful picture making.

This painting was presented in 1948 by Sir John Richmond who worked for the Glasgow engineering firm of G&J Weir, starting as an apprentice in 1889 and rising to the position of senior Deputy Chairman. He was also Chairman of Glasgow School of Art from 1936 until 1947, and Chairman of the Glasgow Institute. He began collecting in the 1900s and with the guidance of Alexander Reid, acquired mainly 19th century French paintings but he also owned works by the Glasgow Boys and the Scottish Colourists.

Credit Line/Donor

Gifted by Sir John R Richmond, 1948

ID Number

2810

Location

Kelvingrove Scottish Colourist Gallery