Peploe, Samuel John (1871–1935)

Scottish painter. He is best known for his still lifes (often flowers in vases) and landscapes, his strong colours and creamy brushwork being derived from Cézanne and also the Fauves. An early example is Boats at Royan (1910; National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh).

Born in Edinburgh, Peploe was educated at Edinburgh Collegiate School and University. At the age of 20 he took up art, and studied in Paris and Edinburgh. His early pictures included still lifes which experimented with tones and sparing use of colour, and portraits whose dark backgrounds derived from Frans Hals and Rembrandt. By 1905 his still lifes and Scottish landscapes had acquired a luscious creamy quality.

This style, however, ended abruptly in 1910 when he married and went to France for three years. Greatly influenced by Cézanne and fauvism, his paintings of Cassis and Antibes began his third style, experimenting in bright colour planes, which he brought to his many later pictures of Iona. He was made an associate of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1917 and a full member in 1927.