Roses 

Samuel Peploe's painting Roses is an intimate still life which brings the outside in, echoing the Post-Impressionist style of early 20th-century Europe. Born in Edinburgh, Peploe, along with three other artists, would become known as the Scottish Colourists. These artists embraced the vibrant palettes of Matisse and the expressive forms of French modernism. Yet, within this dazzling array of colour, class distinctions subtly emerge. The carefully arranged teacup, fine linens and the abundance of fruit and flowers evokes a bourgeois domesticity, reflective of the artist’s social environment. These objects aren't simply representations; they are stand-ins for a world of social aspiration and cultural refinement. Peploe once said, 'There is so much in mere objects, flowers, leaves, jugs, what not – colours, forms, relationships – I can never see an end to the possibilities…'. In Roses, Peploe not only captures the visual delight of the everyday but also subtly reveals the silent markers of identity and belonging embedded within the still life tradition.