Tulips and Cups 1912

Samuel Peploe made this painting, 'Tulips and Cups', using oil paint on canvas, likely in the early 20th century. The visible brushstrokes are crucial to the work’s effect, capturing the immediacy of his vision. Notice the thick impasto and the way he builds up layers of paint, adding texture. Peploe uses this physical quality of the oil paint to give the image a vitality and energy. The paint is applied quickly and spontaneously, indicative of a modern approach to painting. He wasn't grinding his own pigments; instead, he uses pre-mixed colors straight from the tube. The bright hues and bold composition reflect a consumer culture in which leisure time and access to art materials were increasingly available, particularly to middle and upper classes. In this context, Peploe's painting becomes more than just a still life; it is a meditation on the material and social conditions of its making. Thinking about the paint itself and the way Peploe applies it allows us to consider the relationship between art, labor, and the burgeoning consumerism of the early 20th century.