A SMALL ORIENTALIST CORNER AT DAR TALIWINT’S

 

UNDER THE TENT

Our Berber tent on the terrace has modestly turned into a small collection of Orientalist paintings. These reproductions allow to discover a pictorial universe that was very fashionable in Europe from the end of the 18th century: Orientalism. Some of the artists presented here were confirmed travelers, others had actually dreamed their Orient.

 

 

We will not find a common graphic style. In these captured moments of life, these portraits, these landscapes, perhaps one could perceive a shared palette of strong colors and always soothing atmospheres where time seems to flow slowly.

My selection deliberately moves away from the numerous representations of lascivious scenes, imbued with fantasized sensuality, which have flourished in this Oriental imagination. The poets sang them so well!

I invite you more to a trip to Morocco where you will meet laughing characters, scenes of daily life, contemplate picturesque landscapes, hear the sounds of instruments, voices and songs.

 

 

 

FRANTZ CHARLET (1862-1928)

A Belgian artist who traveled to Morocco in 1883. He has a predilection for genre scenes and his models are his neighbors, the children around him, Berber women… The paintings from this period were exhibited in Brussels in 1885. Later he let himself be tempted by Impressionism. He died in Paris.

 

 

 

 

MARCEL BUSSON (1913-2015)

Gold Medal at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1957. He lived for 40 years in Morocco and taught drawing at the Lyautey high school in Casablanca.

 

 

 

ALEXANDRE CABANEL (1823-1889)

A major figure in the artistic world of the Second Empire, a student of Jean-Auguste Ingres, this French painter, born in Montpellier, will even be commissioned an official portrait by Emperor Napoleon III. One of his well-known paintings is ‘The Fallen Angel’.

 

 

EDY LEGRAND (1892-1970)

Initially an illustrator in an Art Deco style, his reputation as a painter was established notably at the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Indépendants in the 1920s. He will settle in Morocco where he will become friends with Jacques Majorelle. This period is obviously a great source of inspiration and occupies a prominent place in his work.

 

 

 

PAUL-ALEXANDRE LEROY (1860-1942)

Trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, in the workshop of Alexandre Cabanel, he is captivated by the Maghreb, travels and collects objects from Berber culture. In 1893, he founded the Society of French Orientalists. Besides Orientalism, he is also a famous portraitist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

JOSE CRUZ HERRERA (1890-1972)

He was born near Gibraltar, studied in Madrid and won many distinctions. His installation in Casablanca in the 1930s will be decisive in his creation. His representation of Morocco is quite realistic, almost photographic. Portraits and genre scenes punctuate his work borrowed from sincerity and authenticity. He will exhibit internationally. He died in Casablanca.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HENRY PONTOY (1888-1968)

Born in Reims, trained at the School of Fine Arts in Paris, he exhibits in the greatest Salons of his time. He travels to the Maghreb, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco. He resided for a time in Ouarzazate, where he met Jacques Majorelle with whom he undertook trips to Cameroon, the Ivory Coast and Guinea after the Second World War. He was also a professor of arts and letters in Fès.

 

 

 

LOUIS JOHN ENDRES (1896-1989)

An American painter, student of the Beaux-arts in Cincinnati and New York. He settled in France then in Morocco in Rabat in 1931. He is a member of the Society of French Orientalists founded by Paul-Alexandre Leroy. The culture and light of Morocco nourish his work.

 

 

 

 

 

JACQUES MAJORELLE (1886-1962)

The garden that he created in Marrakech in the 20s and opened to the public in 1947, has become an emblematic place of the ochre city. His name has thus passed into posterity. Many are unaware that he was a major painter of Orientalism. Son of the famous cabinetmaker from Nancy, Louis Majorelle, an essential figure of Art Nouveau, he studied in Paris but settled in Morocco in 1917. He will visit the country, sketching many landscapes and genre scenes in his travel books, and will work as a painter, illustrator, decorator. He also nourished a great passion for botany. He died in Paris in 1962.

 

 

EUGÈNE DELACROIX (1798-1863)

He is certainly the most well-known artist of this presentation. Trained at the Beaux-Arts de Paris, he is still considered one of the greatest representatives of Romanticism, exhibited in the largest museums in the world. His most famous work remains “Liberty Leading the People” visible at the Louvre Museum. In 1832, he accompanied a diplomatic mission to Morocco with the Sultan of the Kingdom. From then on and after his return, the Moroccan themes will continue to nourish his work.

 

 

 

 

You arenow  sitting under our tent in very good company ! Some of these artists have crossed paths in real life, they meet aagain here at DAR TALIWINT’S. Just like us, they loved this enchanting country. What could be more natural than to still converse with them !