Taroudant by Raphaël Pinatel

Raphaël (René) Pinatel
1875 - 1933 | French

Taroudant

Signed, inscribed and dated "R. Pinatel / Taroudant / 1926" (lower right)
Oil on panel

A stunning ode to the Moroccan landscape, this oil on panel was composed by the French Orientalist painter Raphaël Pinatel, whose lively works adeptly translated the romanticism of the East for a Western audience. The present work, which captures a market in Taroudant, a city in southeastern Morocco, exemplifies the artist’s distinctive approach as he brilliantly translates the energy and atmosphere of the desert city. Pinatel’s style is impressionistic in his brushwork and handling of light and atmosphere. In the present work, he brilliantly captures the effects of the direct desert sun as it shines through the thatched roofs of the merchant’s booths onto the sand. Rendered in earth tones punctuated by jewel-like reds and blues, the palette itself has an exotic feel, as Pinatel perfectly renders the colors of the desert oasis. 

While little is known of Pinatel, he did travel often to northern Africa, and his time in Morocco would have a lasting impact on his oeuvre. European public demand for Orientalist pictures was high in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and Pinatel was a founding member of an artistic society called the Association of French Painters and Sculptors of Morocco created in 1922 in response to the recent successes of Orientalist exhibitions. The group, consisting of twelve artists, exhibited together frequently and enjoyed much popular and critical acclaim, satisfying the contemporary fervor for all things exotic.

Painted 1926

Panel: 18" high x 21 1/2" wide
Frame: 22" high x 25 3/4" wide