Landscape, Cassis, France 1924

Curator: Standing before us is Samuel Peploe’s "Landscape, Cassis, France," painted in 1924. What are your first thoughts? Editor: I'm struck by how material this is. Look at those impasto strokes building the tree trunks, so blue, almost shimmering. The process itself is so evident, the materiality jumps right out. Curator: Indeed. Peploe, a key figure in the Scottish Colourists movement, was profoundly influenced by the Fauves, embracing their bold color palette and expressive brushwork to capture landscapes in a liberated, visually striking manner. How do you think this plays out socially and culturally at the time? Editor: Well, by 1924, Fauvism was already established, but Peploe brings a Scottish sensibility. Cassis was becoming a retreat for artists—there’s a commodification even of the landscape, wouldn't you say? These weren't neutral sites; artists went there and inevitably shaped it in their works. Curator: Precisely. The act of plein-air painting itself, as he used, gains importance. These paintings weren’t made in a vacuum but are constructed within the context of artistic movements. His choice of scene, Cassis, as you note, adds another layer of meaning. What's his labor saying, right? Editor: And the labor! We see Peploe building up the surface almost like constructing a landscape anew. The thick application transforms oil paint into a substance almost tangible, almost real trees. Curator: But also a place viewed through the lens of a rising art market, the appeal of exotic locale. Yet what continues to intrigue is the painting's capacity to blend intense colors with an almost palpable sense of calm and serenity. Editor: Yes, in its objecthood, that's undeniable—how this work creates a space that is simultaneously inviting and reflective speaks to something. But ultimately it reminds us of art’s place in broader economies. Curator: This small landscape opens our eyes to the interplay of art, culture, and commerce, each shaping the other. Editor: I'll now go to the museum shop, to maybe bring the commercial element to a further stage, but I'll definitely be remembering the thickness of the oil, its own inherent qualities shaping the viewing of place.