Marabout of Matisse

If you never had the chance to contemplate a life size painting, don't miss the opportunity to do so in Tangier, city of dreams.

Many painters found their inspiration there. Among them : Henri Matisse, who stayed there twice between 1912 and 1913. The Kasbah was the background for several works painted by Matisse.

The place where we are located, the tombstone of Sidi Boukoudja, was the chosen scenery for his work Le marabout. The painter Matisse loved to represent the Moroccans in their environment, but he also painted landscapes, still lifes and the lush flora.

Matisse was fascinated by the light and the colours of Tangier and he claimed that trips to Morocco help him reconnect with nature better than the application of a living theory like the fauvism ever could.

Henri Matisse is one of the most important representatives of this short-lived painting movement. He had a great influence on all the early XX century art, characterized by the use of violent and bright colours as a main method of expression of feelings.

Matisse's stays in Tangier helped him transposing his feelings in a better way through painting. Devastated by a psychological crisis which pushed him to constantly question himself, Matisse found in this city the serenity and the confidence he lacked to give a new impetus to his painting and to feel what he called ''the inexpressible delight from when it comes naturally''. Tangier is not short of sources of inspiration.