Skip to main content

The Faces of Marrakech through the palette of Elalaoui


Marchand de Tapis, oil on canvas
“A visit to Marrakech was a great shock to me. This city taught me color.” Yves Saint Laurent

It was inspiring to see the paintings of Abdallah Alaoui in March at the Secret Garden in Marrakech. It gave me this idea to show the daily life and people of Marrakech through the rich color palette of its resident artist. The painter who signs his canvases as Elalaoui, is a professor of industrial drawing. His early foray into art started with pencil and ink drawings before moving on to line art and sketching. Elalaoui added color to his works in 1986 and in 1988, he discovered oil painting. Much later, he learned the pastel technique. The paintings I have posted here are part of his figurative realism portfolio. They are vibrant representations of everyday scenes in Marrakech. 

Vendeuse des citrons, 2016, oil on canvas
Life seems intense when you are navigating the Medina and bright colors jump at you from the stalls selling carpets, pottery, leather goods, spices and clothing. In the midst of this holy mess is the seated figure of the lemon seller in traditional garb. Her face is calm and she has a faraway look. What could she be thinking about as she sits patiently waiting for someone to buy her produce?

Vendeur de melons, 2019, oil on canvas
Who can blame this vendor for taking a nap or dozing off? The souks are like cocoons, warm and cozy underneath layers of clothing in winter. During the summer, narrow alleyways provide shade from the blazing sun.

Garment Dyer, oil on canvas
When I hear mention of Morocco, I recall the pictures of leather tanneries I’ve seen so often on social media. This painting of a garment dyer reminds me that much of the fine clothes and accessories you find at the souks are hand crafted in the country rather than machine made. Notice how the dyer balances the garments using two wooden poles. There’s grace and elegance in his posture.

Buveur de soupe, 2014, oil on canvas
This painting stirs up nostalgia. It’s time for a meal break. Dipping bread into soup is an age old practice. Notice how the artist juxtaposes the white bowl with blue trim against hues of gold, fiery red, blue, light blue and two folds of beige. This allows us to focus on the bowl while anticipating eating that bread soaked in delicious hot soup. Elalaoui has etched this “anticipation” into the painting.

Gnawa Musician playing the guembri, 2020, oil on canvas
The Gnawa (Gnaoua) is an ethnic and spiritual community who are descendants of slaves from West Africa. They were brought to Morocco during the slave trade in the 16th century. Their music is meant to be a therapeutic and prayer ritual to appease their ancestral spirits who are believed to dwell in human beings. The guembri is a three stringed, skin covered lute. Gnawa music is recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. The coastal city of Essaouira which is about three hours from Marrakech holds a Gnawa international music festival annually, usually in June. Listen to traditional freestyle guembri music here: https://youtu.be/dHCS0p3fMOI?is=VUtqCCKjZtejjDTi.

Gnawa musician playing the guembri

Pottery Seller
These are utilitarian pottery in earthen colors. They are unlike the painted and decorative pottery sold in the souks. The earthen colors are broken by the dark red robe and blue shirt of the buyer and the green hat of the seller matched by the green neck scarf of the buyer. They do not fade into the background. Instead, they provide color and contrast to an otherwise monotonal palette.

The Paintings of Abdallah Alaoui at the Secret Garden in Marrakech
Wish I could have taken more pictures of the paintings hung on the upper walls but with a phone camera, this was a little challenging. Notice the snake charmer on the left and the water seller in the middle. 

Marrakech is dubbed the Rose City for its buildings made from red clay that are sourced nearby. Depending on the time of day, these rose colored structures can turn into hues of salmon, rosewood, spiced coral or musk rose. This architectural feature defines Marrakech and provides the framework for how we remember the city when we leave. Elalaoui’s paintings of life in Marrakech enhance our cultural perspective through his art.

This exposition of Elalaoui's works is over but check the Events calendar of Marrakech before you go to find out where you can view his paintings. 

Stay connected


*****

Images by TravelswithCharie

Labels:
Location: Marrakesh, Morocco

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by  Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with   Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was...
Read more

Filipino Struggles in History - Carlos Botong Francisco

In 1968, Antonio Villegas (then Mayor of Manila), commissioned Carlos "Botong" Francisco to paint the history of Manila for Manila City Hall. The series of large scale paintings was called  Kasaysayan ng Maynila  (History of Manila).  The paintings deteriorated over time and no attempt was made to preserve these historical canvases until 2013 when Mayor Amado Lim sent them to the National Museum for extensive restoration. Four years later, in 2017, Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Manila City Council signed an agreement with the National Museum to leave the paintings at the museum so they may reach a larger audience in exchange for museum grade reproductions to replace the originals. Kasaysayan ng Maynila was later renamed Filipino Struggles in History and is now on display at the Senate Hall of the National Museum . Carlos "Botong" Francisco died in March 1969, a few months after completing the paintings. He is one of the first Filipino modernists and...
Read more

The Mystic Rose in Leshë

Trëndafili Mistik or Mystic Rose is one of the most beautiful restaurants I’ve visited recently. To get there you have to enter the Kulë-Vain-Tale nature reserve (there’s an entrance fee) and drive a few miles into the park before arriving at the restaurant. It is right beside a lagoon with a view of the mountains in the distance. It can’t get any sweeter than this. We were there in early May and it was warm outside. We sat at the outdoor terrace and this was our view. This is the entrance to the wood and stone house on the premises. This is the living room with photos of famous people who came to dine at the restaurant including the former U.S. Ambassador to Albania. There’s a dining room upstairs. These photos are of Diella Loshi who started serving food in her own house in the early days.  You can’t go wrong ordering fish or seafood as these are their specialties and served fresh. My grilled sea bass was moist and tender. Make sure to ask how large the fish is because you may no...
Read more