Tulips in a Brown Jar 1933

Samuel Peploe made this painting of tulips in a brown jar with oil on canvas. I can see the brushstrokes. They're confident, loaded with paint, and kind of joyful. Peploe wasn't trying to hide his process; he was celebrating it. Look at how he built up the tulips. It's all about the materiality of the paint. Thick daubs of color suggest the petals, and the shadows aren't blended, but rather built up with strokes of dark green and blue. And the jar! It's not just a container for the flowers; it’s a sculptural form rendered with visible, textured brushwork. There is such physicality to the medium. It reminds me of Cezanne, who also used brushstrokes to construct form and space. It’s like Peploe is saying, "Here are the tulips, yes, but here is also the paint, the process, the sheer joy of putting color to canvas." It's a conversation that’s been going on for centuries.