Why Morocco?


Acknowledging these qualities of the contradictory Fauve women in Collioure of Le Bonheur de Vivre, it is easier to visualize the second half of the paradox: Matisse’s depictions of the non-Western yet cultured Zorah in Tanger. Matisse first flirted with the idea of visiting Morocco after a trip to the Moorish part of Spain in the winter of 1910. This taste of the Moors incited a flame of hope that there would be greater inspiration to paint in Morocco. Furthermore, well aware of the exotic subjects in Morocco that had engendered a wealth of inspiration for the famous painter Delacroix when he visited the country over eighty years before, Matisse felt Morocco would stimulate his painting genius in ways Europe could not (Watkins). Thus, he made two trips to Morocco between 1912 and 1913, returning to Paris for a brief interim before returning once more, and according to Jack Flam in his book Matisse: The Man and His Art, 1869 - 1918 “in going there he was opening himself to exotic lure in Africa and the splendor of the East� (Flam 324), and soon to encounter the model who would provide the very inspiration to stretch beyond the boundaries of the limiting qualities of a Fauve woman. Specifically, his paintings of Zorah in Morocco marked a new step in his depictions of women: one moving away from the violent, sensual characteristics of Fauve women and moving towards focusing on the humanity of his subject.
Additional Information: The Artist Himself in Morocco