Samuel John Peploe (Scottish) 1871 – 1935

Peploe is one of the group of four artists known as the ‘Scottish Colourists.’ Born in Edinburgh, he studied art in Paris and lived there from 1910 to 1912. It was through painting holidays in Northern France that he was introduced to the use of bold colour, inspired by the bright sunlight. He later experienced the same intensity of light while painting on the island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland. French painting proved to be a powerful influence for Peploe throughout his life. Although his work never became abstract, it was characterised by tight composition, strong colour and assured handling.

Influences

Still-life traditions of Holland and France

• Frans Hals, Chardin, Manet

• Visit to Paris introduced to work of Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso and Matisse

• Impressionism – Colour and Light

• Japanese Prints

Objectives:

• Strived to paint perfect still-life

• Perfect composition

• Chose subject matter carefully

• Subtle changes on a theme

• Used different sized brushes and painting knife

• Painted a picture usually in single sitting

• Colour used to determine mood

• Colour used to arrange the composition of a

painting

• Sense of design in his paintings

• Jigsaw-like composition

• Bold outlines

• Consideration is given to the amount of space

each colour occupies

• How much outline and where to put it

Phrases

framing the subject

• unrealistic bright colours

• compositional harmony and balance

• exploring different qualities of paint

• Japanese Influence- jazzy style

• Colours are rich and vibrant

• loose handling of paint

• dense paint and bold directional brushstrokes

• balances shapes, lines and curves

• dominating colours

• build up in layers of colour

• containing a sense of space and depth

• the placing of objects across the canvas give it

rhythm