Jacques Majorelle (fr. Jacques Majorelle , * March 7, 1886 Nancy ; † October 14, 1962 Paris ) - French artist, representative of Orientalism in painting of the twentieth century.
Life and creativity
Jacques Majorelle was the only son of a woodcarver and furniture designer Louis Majorelle (1859–1926). At the age of 15 years enters the National School of Fine Arts of the city of Nancy, in 1903 ode moved to Paris. Here a young artist attends classes at the Julian Academy . Travels a lot; in 1910 he visits Spain, Italy and Egypt. During this trip, the masters captivate the bright colors of the southern countries, the peculiar culture of the East and the Islamic world.
In 1912, Morocco became a French protectorate, and in 1917, Jacques Majorelle toured this country. For a number of years, the artist lives in Marrakesh, here in 1919 he marries his companion, Andre Longeville. He draws a lot, Arab and Berber villages and Kasbah in the region north of Ouarzazat , which was then a small village, are of particular interest to him. Repeatedly Majorelle also visits the place Anemiter in the Unil Valley, where he creates many sketches, which are then embodied in his canvases. In Marrakech, however, are his first solo exhibitions. In 1925, he painted the salons in the salons of the elite Mamunia hotel that opened in this city.
After the death of his father in 1926, receiving an inheritance and adding to it the income from sales of his paintings, the artist buys a villa outside the city walls of Marrakesh, which he will convert into his working studio. Around the villa, he breaks a large garden, over the years, gradually expanding to the size of the park ( Park Majorelle ). In 1947, the park becomes accessible to visitors. In 1955, as a result of an accident, he had an amputated leg; the next year the artist divorces his wife, but in 1961 he remarries. In 1962, J. Majorel, after a hip fracture, comes to Paris for treatment, where he soon dies. He was buried near the grave of his father.
Primarily devoted to oriental themes, oil paintings and gouache paintings by Jacques Majorelle are mostly in private collections, as well as in museums in his hometown, Nancy. The villa and park Majorelle in Morocco was bought in 1980 by the French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent , restored, and after his death in 2008 is open to visitors. The Exotic Majority Park with the Museum of Islamic Art located in the Villa Majorzel is one of the landmarks of Marrakesh.
Additions
- Park Majorelle - photos and information (in French)