Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and low. Socialites, artists, currency speculators, drug addicts, spies, sexual deviants, ex-
iles, eccentrics - the marginalia of humanity all arrived, giving the city a particularly sor-
did reputation.
MATISSE IN TANGIER
Of the many artists who have passed through Tangier, Henri Matisse is one of the most famous. The
French impressionist and leading light of the early-20th-century Fauvist movement called Tangier a
'painter's paradise'. His two visits to the city, in the spring of 1912 and again the following winter,
had a profound influence on his work.
Inspired by the luminous North African light and the colour and harmony found in traditional Mo-
roccan art, Matisse completed some 20 canvases and dozens of sketches during his time in Tangier. In
them he honed the qualities that define his mature work: bold abstract lines, two-dimensional shapes
and vibrant, expressive - as opposed to natural - colours.
Matisse mainly looked to the daily life of the medina for his themes. He produced several striking
portraits of Zohra, a local prostitute, and a wonderful painting of a strong-featured Riffian woman sit-
ting legs akimbo against an azure sky.
However, it is Matisse's renditions of the city that really strike a chord. Two of the most evocative
are
Vue sur la Baie de Tanger
(View of the Bay of Tangier) and
La Porte de la Casbah
(Entrance to
the Kasbah). Both are relatively subdued in their use of colour, but in
Paysage Vu d'une Fenêtre
(Window at Tangier) the artist hits full stride. The painting shows the view from his window in the
Grand Hôtel Villa de France (
Click here
), looking out over St Andrew's Church, with its squat tower,
to the kasbah beyond. The overriding colour is a pure, sizzling Mediterranean blue.
When the Interzone period ended, Tangier entered a long period of decline. As the eco-
nomic base moved on, so did the cultural scene. The city became a dreary port, while re-
taining its criminality. Having taken a dislike to it, successive monarchs cut off access to
key funds. Street hustlers multiplied, turning off tourists. The numbers of expats
dwindled, until there were only a few thousand left.
Since 1999, Tangier has been the site of major development with its new port, Tanger
Med, and a drive towards increasing tourism across the region with Tangier the central
hub.
