S J Peploe (1871-1935), Scotland, Still life, 
about 1930, oil paint on hardboard. Purchased 1944

'So much in mere objects'

Still life was Samuel John Peploe’s favourite subject for painting. He used just a few simple objects - fruit, flowers, a china jug - to explore colour and form, never failing to find some new combination. ‘There is so much in mere objects,’ Peploe wrote, ‘I can never see the mystery coming to an end.’

Peploe studied at the Royal Scottish Academy before going to Paris where he immersed himself in the French post-impressionist movement. He was one of the Scottish Colourists, a group of artists who reworked the strong vibrant colours of contemporary French painting into a distinctively Scottish style during the 1920s and 1930s.