The Black Shawl 1904

Samuel Peploe, a Scottish Colourist, painted 'The Black Shawl' with oil on canvas, and it's all about how he builds form with brushstrokes. Look at the way he's laid down the paint, thick and juicy, especially around the face. You can almost feel the pressure of the brush, like he's sculpting with pigment. The strokes around her eye are particularly interesting, and describe everything and nothing. It is like the form has been broken down to its component parts, so it can be built again. And then there's the shawl itself, a dark, velvety mass that seems to absorb all light. It contrasts with the light, almost aggressively pink face. A bit like how Vuillard would play with blacks and browns to create these hazy, intimate spaces. Peploe’s not just painting a portrait; he's capturing a mood, an atmosphere. His process feels like a conversation, a back-and-forth between intention and accident, until it settles into a kind of knowing harmony. It's the kind of conversation that makes art so endlessly fascinating, don't you think?