The Cornfield, Douglas Hall 1919

Editor: Right, so this is Samuel Peploe's "The Cornfield, Douglas Hall" from 1919, an oil painting clearly done en plein air. It feels almost… joyful? The stooks of corn are so geometric, almost like little tents pitched in a field of light. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: It's interesting you find joy in it. I see the aftermath of labour, the stooks as markers of human intervention upon the landscape. Considering it's 1919, shortly after the First World War, how does that historical context affect our viewing of the "joyful" landscape you mention? Is this peace, or perhaps a forced return to agricultural stability? Editor: I hadn’t thought about that. It does change things, doesn’t it? So these aren’t just simple forms; they're part of a larger socio-economic picture. What about the way Peploe uses such bright colours, even in a post-war period? Is that significant? Curator: Exactly. The vibrancy feels deliberate. Think about the Arts and Crafts movement beforehand, with its idealized rural scenes. Peploe moves beyond that sentimentality. This isn’t just about celebrating nature; it’s about presenting the real, and perhaps even masking the trauma through its colourful and geometrical presentation. What public expectation did landscape art play at the time? Editor: To create idealized images? Almost propagandistic then? That changes everything for me, looking at what looks like the bright simplicity of the image, but there is a complex context just underneath. Curator: Precisely. The beauty is a layer, a construction shaped by and responding to the socio-political climate. It also tells us of Peploe’s interest to stay abreast with, but at arm’s length, from contemporary painting practices on the Continent, of a move from pure visual naturalism towards formalism and expression. Editor: Well, that’s definitely given me a new way to see this seemingly simple scene. I guess art always exists in a much wider world. Curator: Indeed. Hopefully, this experience invites us to seek a new kind of understanding.