Jacques Majorelle – The Unattainable Dream

It was through her in-laws, the Majorelles, that Chantal Destrez (1940-2016) discovered the artistic work of Jacques Majorelle. She spent over forty years reading and archiving correspondence among cousins, photograph albums and other private source material, which resulted in the first major study of the life and work of Jacques Majorelle. An authority on Jacques Majorelle, her opinion was often sought on the painter’s oeuvre. Given that Jacques Majorelle’s name is internationally renowned today, one can unequivocally say that Chantal Destrez achieved her dream of giving the painter the attention and place in art history he deserves.

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At night, in the streets and in the souks, with tightened jaw and radiant eyes, I remain overwhelmed and quivering, delirious before the unhurried passers by, before the magical light bathing the sprays of dust rising from the crowd. What exquisite pleasure and splendour are given by these powerful yellows, trimmed in subtle purple, unfolding in swaying arabesques. Clever harmonies of different shades of white, embedded with cherry reds and violent greens. Intensely powerful and simple, the profound and sharp black tones are torn apart and sundered by puddles of sunlight.

Jacques Majorelle, Marrakech, 13 November 1917