Majorelle Garden, Marrakech, Morocco
The Majorelle Garden in Marrakech is the masterwork of the French artist, Jacques Majorelle (1886–1962). The son of an Art Nouveau furniture designer, Majorelle became a painter in Nancy, and was then inspired by the countryside in Brittany. He moved south to Spain and Egypt to aid recovery from illness, and developed an orientalist style which captured the colour and light of Northern Africa. Majorelle settled in Marrakech in 1919, and constructed the garden for his studio in 1924, on the border of a palm grove.
It comprises lily-filled pools, fountains, raised pathways and groves of bamboo, bougainvilleas and coconut palms. Overall, the garden is composed like a painting, and many of the objects and buildings are painted in ‘Majorelle Blue’, which is strikingly effective when compared with the surrounding natural features and plants. The garden has been open to the public since 1947, but deteriorated after the artist's return to France in 1962 following a car accident. Acquired by Yves Saint Laurent in 1980, it has since been restored to its former calm and beauty.
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