The Ginger Jar

Details

Samuel John Peploe, R.S.A. (1871-1935)
The Ginger Jar
signed 'Peploe' (lower left)
oil on canvas
18 x 21¾ in. (45.8 x 55.2 cm.)
Painted circa 1926.

Provenance

with Aitken Dott, Edinburgh.
with Lefevre Gallery, London.
with La Société des Beaux Arts (Alexander Reid), Glasgow, where purchased by J.W. Blyth in April 1926, and by descent to the previous owner.

Literature

S. Cursiter, Peploe An intimate memoir of an artist and of his work, Edinburgh, 1947, pl. 34.
Exhibition catalogue, S.J. Peploe Exhibition Paintings and Drawings, London, Duncan Miller, 1993, no. 28, illustrated.
G. Peploe, S.J. Peploe, Edinburgh, 2000, p. 146, no. 103, illustrated.

Exhibited

Kirkcaldy, Art Gallery and Museum, Loan Exhibition, July - August 1928.
Edinburgh, Aitken Dott, Memorial Exhibition of 83 Paintings by S.J. Peploe, April - May 1936, no. 20.
Glasgow, McLellan Galleries, Memorial Exhibition of Paintings by S.J. Peploe, February 1937, no. 23.
London, Royal Academy, Exhibition of Scottish Art, January - March 1939.
Edinburgh, National Gallery of Scotland, S.J. Peploe, March 1941, no. 53. Glasgow, Ewan Mundy, The Scottish Colourists, November 1989, no. 10.
London, Duncan Miller, S.J. Peploe Exhibition Paintings and Drawings, November - December 1993, no. 28.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

It is the combination of Peploe's distinctive style and the influence of the still lifes of Cézanne that characterise this painting. The focus of the painting is the unusual motif of the ginger jar. Like the apples that lie scattered around the jar, Peploe has constructed them using flat layers of paint to create a sense of depth. This 'constructive function' of colour (T.J. Honeyman, Three Scottish Colourists, Edinburgh, 1950, p. 43) suggests the influence of Cézanne upon Peploe. Honeyman writes 'Peploe and Hunter ... were among the first in Britain to understand what Cézanne was attempting to do, and they never ceased to be aware of colour as the fundamental element in pictorial art' (loc. cit.).

For more information about J.W. Blyth please see the catalogue note to lot 152.

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