Still Life (c.1912), National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.
Oil on canvas, 55 x 46 cms.
Literature: Strang, Cumming, Fowle, 'S.J. Peploe', Yale University Press, 2012, plate 27
For a brief and intensely experimental period around 1912-13, Peploe worked in a style showing the strong influence of cubist art. The Italian Futurists and British Vorticists were also exploring the possibilities of geometric forms at this time. Peploe's use of structured brushstrokes and the faceted backgrounds of these compositions show his awareness of these trends. At the same time, Stanley Cursiter, Peploe's friend, fellow artist and biographer, produced seven extraordinary paintings in a style inspired by the Italian Futurists, whose work he had probably seen in London in 1912. In Cursiter's variant of Futurism, the forms are geometric, the works explore ideas of speed and industry and are fragmented yet they are not overly distorted, avoiding abstraction. In Peploe's experiments with cubist geometry he avoids the more radical elements and was not tempted to reduce his colour palette. Instead, the painting remains quite clearly focused on the form of the objects and celebrates them in colour. These rare paintings, were well received and Peploe was given an exhibition at the Stafford Gallery in London in 1912. The outbreak of war in 1914 brought this period of experimentation to an end.
Image courtesy of National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh www.nationalgalleries.org
Still Life with Bottle (c.1913), Private Collection.
Oil on canvas, 51 x 51 cms.
Still Life with Benedictine Bottle, Private Collection.
Oil on canvas, 54.5 x 45 cms.
Still Life (c.1910-12) The Potteries Museum, Stoke on Trent.
Oil on canvas, 43 x 53.5 cms.