Jacques Majorelle: Marrakech, the Atlas and a famous blue

Jacques Majorelle (1886–1962)

Oil painting by DAMSSILI, Moroccan artist — Oil painting by DAMSSILI, inspired by the same Moroccan themes.

Jacques Majorelle, born in Nancy in 1886, came to Morocco in 1917 and made Marrakech his home. He painted the kasbahs and villages of the High Atlas and the Souss in large, bright compositions that blend Art Deco rhythm with local colour.

From the 1920s he created a garden in Marrakech and painted its buildings in an intense cobalt blue, now known as Majorelle blue. The garden opened to visitors in 1947. After his death in 1962 it fell into neglect, until Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé bought and restored it in 1980.

Today the Jardin Majorelle is among the most visited places in Morocco, and a reminder of how strongly painters have shaped the image of the country.

Today: DAMSSILI, who lives and works in Taroudant in the Souss valley, paints the same region from a Moroccan point of view: ramparts, riders and the heritage of Volubilis.