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Lot Essay
The present work dates from circa 1906, shortly after Peploe had moved his studio from Devon Place to York Place in Edinburgh. The studio had previously belonged to the great 18th Century Scottish portraitist Sir Henry Raeburn, R.A.
Peploe's earliest biographer, his friend and fellow painter, Stanley Cursiter, analysed the artist's approach at this date, 'His technique broadened and he adopted a medium which gave a still richer surface and which appeared to hold the brush marks with a still fuller body of paint. It has been suggested that he actually used some form of enamel, as the pigment takes on the smooth creamy quality and the flowing texture that an enamel would produce, but the actual paint is more solid and it would not seem possible to build up the full impasto which he secured with any of the commercial types of enamel. It is more probably that his medium contained large proportion of stand oil with some addition of varnish. Whatever it was, it has a very pleasing quality, slightly translucent, preserving the colour at a high pitch while avoiding a too pronounced glitter or shine' (see S. Cursiter, Peploe, London, 1947, p. 18).
Having painted still lifes from circa 1895 they were to form a major part of Peploe's oeuvre for the remainder of his life. Typically he used familiar objects and roses were a particularly favourite flower. In Pink and red roses in a vase Peploe displays his masterful treatment of the medium; using thick impasto and generous brushstrokes applied with great economy he creates a vibrant, glowing image of the full-blown roses against the rich, creamy background.
Dr Tom J. Honeyman (1891-1971), the former owner of the present work, collected one of the most significant collections of modern Scottish paintings. Having trained as a medical doctor, Honeyman changed direction in 1928 to become a partner in the art dealers Reid & Lefevre, initially managing the Glasgow gallery. He was close to the Scottish Colourists and wrote about them in numerous journals and publications including Three Scottish Colourists (1950) which examines the work of Peploe, Hunter and Cadell, as well as writing Peploe's obituary in The Scotsman.
Peploe's earliest biographer, his friend and fellow painter, Stanley Cursiter, analysed the artist's approach at this date, 'His technique broadened and he adopted a medium which gave a still richer surface and which appeared to hold the brush marks with a still fuller body of paint. It has been suggested that he actually used some form of enamel, as the pigment takes on the smooth creamy quality and the flowing texture that an enamel would produce, but the actual paint is more solid and it would not seem possible to build up the full impasto which he secured with any of the commercial types of enamel. It is more probably that his medium contained large proportion of stand oil with some addition of varnish. Whatever it was, it has a very pleasing quality, slightly translucent, preserving the colour at a high pitch while avoiding a too pronounced glitter or shine' (see S. Cursiter, Peploe, London, 1947, p. 18).
Having painted still lifes from circa 1895 they were to form a major part of Peploe's oeuvre for the remainder of his life. Typically he used familiar objects and roses were a particularly favourite flower. In Pink and red roses in a vase Peploe displays his masterful treatment of the medium; using thick impasto and generous brushstrokes applied with great economy he creates a vibrant, glowing image of the full-blown roses against the rich, creamy background.
Dr Tom J. Honeyman (1891-1971), the former owner of the present work, collected one of the most significant collections of modern Scottish paintings. Having trained as a medical doctor, Honeyman changed direction in 1928 to become a partner in the art dealers Reid & Lefevre, initially managing the Glasgow gallery. He was close to the Scottish Colourists and wrote about them in numerous journals and publications including Three Scottish Colourists (1950) which examines the work of Peploe, Hunter and Cadell, as well as writing Peploe's obituary in The Scotsman.