Green Sea, Iona 1920

Samuel Peploe painted this canvas, "Green Sea, Iona," with oil. The composition of the painting is strikingly divided into horizontal bands. The foreground presents a rugged landscape of rocks and sand, rendered in thick impasto and cool hues. This tactile materiality invites the viewer into a sensory experience of place. A narrow strip of sea separates the land from the distant mountains, establishing depth through atmospheric perspective. Peploe's bold brushstrokes and simplification of forms reflect a move towards abstraction, challenging traditional landscape painting. The painting explores the interplay between representation and surface, where the materiality of paint becomes as significant as the subject it depicts. The canvas becomes a site for exploring the structural elements of painting itself.