Nannie 1908

Curator: Welcome! Today, we're looking at "Nannie," an oil on canvas painted by Samuel Peploe around 1908, from his Scottish Colourist period. Editor: The painting has an air of mysterious ambiguity, the subject caught in shadows beneath a broad hat. Is it an expression of solemnity or of concealed amusement? Curator: I’m glad you picked up on that, there's definitely a stillness but also life in those cheekbones, isn’t there? Peploe's use of light here, very much in the Post-Impressionist style, emphasizes particular forms like the swirling white fabric at the neck— it draws the eye, right? It’s really what elevates this piece above just a typical portrait. Editor: It’s a stark contrast, isn’t it? That bright, almost chaotic energy in the ruff set against the enveloping darkness, perhaps symbolic of the subject's inner complexities against her exterior composure. Do you think the artist was going for a study of internal struggle? Curator: Could be. Or it might be the kind of color experiment, in the Post-Impressionist mode. See how the shadows almost threaten to consume the whole portrait? The darkness, I think, might just be there to make the other colors, and the overall form of the portrait, really sing. It creates an interesting emotional tension. Editor: The symbolic value of light and darkness is enduring. Think of it in religious iconography – the halo versus the shadow, defining moral and spiritual states. This contrast evokes so many interpretations about a sitter, this "Nannie," who could represent anyone. Curator: Maybe so, and that is really interesting… or perhaps “Nannie” was a real person and this is a straightforward likeness. What makes this work compelling is that, with just a few strokes of color, the artist creates this suggestion of character that goes way beyond a mere depiction of what she looked like. Editor: Indeed! Peploe provides us a glimpse into a life, perhaps with both vulnerability and defiance coexisting in one portrait. It is in these unspoken narratives, where symbols subtly hint at deeper meaning. Curator: Precisely. I suppose this "Nannie" embodies the old saying— still waters run deep. Editor: I think so too, which allows a very simple painting to convey such richness and complexity.