Salomon Moryoussef - Portrait Of An Old Moroccan Man

Salomon MORYOUSSEF
Marrakech, 1923 - Jerusalem, 1987
Portrait of an Old Moroccan
Oil on canvas
35 x 27 cm (48 x 39 cm with frame)
Signed and dated lower right "Moryou S. / 1943"
Beautiful original painted wooden frame

Visible at the gallery

This portrait of an elderly Maroccan was by painted by Moroccan painter Salomon Moryoussef. In the works of his first period, he shows a strong realism and a workmanship very much in the paste. In his portraits, Moryoussef captures the life and character of the Moroccans of his time, with simplicity yet strength. It was with his portraits in particular that he made a name for himself in the 1940s, exhibiting his work in galleries in Morocco and Europe.
North Africa has attracted traveling artists, and there have been many in Morocco in particular, from Delacroix in the previous century to modern painters. But local Moroccan artists in particular have also been successful locally and internationally in modern times. Moryoussef is one of these painters.
Of Moroccan origin, he was born in Marrakech and later settled in Casablanca, where from 1942 he exhibited mainly portraits and landscapes at the Sumica gallery. The same year, painters such as Edmond Valès, Miller Ranson, Henri Pontoy and Cruz Herrera also exhibited at the Sumica gallery!
Building on his success, Moryoussef moved to Paris and continued to paint and exhibit in post-war Paris. He then changed direction and his painting became more religious. In 1960, he moved to Jerusalem.