Veules-les-Roses 1910

Samuel Peploe painted this picture of Veules-les-Roses with oil on canvas, and I reckon he did it in one sitting. Just look at the way he's slapped down those strokes! It’s all about capturing a vibe, not a perfect picture. The colours are singing – that juicy blue-green in the trees against the peachy walls, oh my! There's a real push-pull thing happening, like a conversation between warm and cool. I love how you can practically feel the sun beating down on those buildings. And notice that figure tucked into the scene? It's as if it has just appeared, like a ghost of a memory. Peploe’s work reminds me a bit of Vuillard, that knack for turning everyday life into something magical, something deeply felt. It’s like they both knew painting is a way of making sense of all the messy beauty of the world.