The Lobster 1903

Samuel Peploe painted The Lobster in oil with broad, confident brushstrokes. The deep black background really makes the red of the lobster and yellow of the lemon zing! I can imagine Peploe setting up this still life in his studio, maybe on a cloudy Scottish day, carefully arranging the objects to catch the light just so. What was he thinking as he laid down those bold strokes of paint? Was he hungry?! The thickness of the paint gives the lobster a real sense of texture. You can almost feel the roughness of its shell. That single vertical red stroke in the background – what’s that about? It’s like a little exclamation point, a final flourish. It reminds me of Manet’s still lifes, but with a Scottish twist. You know, artists are always talking to each other across time and space. Peploe's just adding his voice to the conversation.