The musée YVES SAINT LAURENT marrakech has mounted the first retrospective devoted to the work of Jacques Azéma (1910- 1979), a French artist who made Marrakech his home in 1930. As a professor of painting in Marrakech, and later at the École des Beaux- Arts in Casablanca in the 1960s, Azéma greatly influenced the Moroccan artists of his time.
Aged twenty, he decided to crisscross North Africa, finally settling in Morocco. He remained in the Kingdom for fifty years before returning to France, where he died. He lived modestly, and shied away from any artistic or social circles. Straying away from orientalist tropes, he chose to focus instead on daily life in Morocco, leaving works that are unique, mysterious and sensual.
At a time when we are reevaluating the important role the École des Beaux- Arts in Casablanca has played in the history of art, it is only fair to pay tribute to one of its most unsung, yet leading figures.

musée YVES SAINT LAURENT marrakech (Fondation Jardin Majorelle)
Rue Yves Saint Laurent
40090 Marrakech
Morocco

+212 (0) 524 298 686
www.museeyslmarrakech.com
info@museeyslmarrakech.com