Jules-louis Moréteau, "the Cliff At Rabat," Landscape, Rabat, Morocco, 1927, Oil On Panel

This 1927 work depicts a cliffside landscape in Rabat, at a place known as “les subsistances militaires.” It is located, dated, and signed by Jules-Louis Moréteau, an artist from Bordeaux who created a large portion of his paintings from life, depicting landscapes of North and West Africa. Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, winner of the Prix de Rome in 1926, and an exhibitor at the 1931 Colonial Exhibition in Vincennes, he also received government grants that sent him to paint landscapes in French colonial territories. 

Beyond the artist’s technical skill, a palette of hues runs through his work and demonstrates a genuine talent for depicting the regions he visited—their landscapes, light, and sometimes local cultures—both faithfully and with feeling. (Feel free to browse the artist’s other works that we have posted online).

The artwork is framed and in very good condition. Its unframed dimensions are as follows: 27 cm wide, 22 cm high.

Here is a supplementary biography of the artist:
Jules Louis Moréteau (1886–1956) was a traveling painter born in Bordeaux. He was a renowned painter associated with the artistic movements known as Orientalism and Africanism. He received his artistic training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His teachers were Gabriel Ferrier, François Flameng, and Charles Fouqueray. Winner of the Prix de Rome in 1926, he painted scenes of Rabat, Safi, and Mogador. In 1935, he won a travel grant to French West Africa and visited Senegal, Sudan, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast. He exhibited with the Société des Artistes Français and participated in the Colonial Exhibition in Paris in 1931. A paragraph is devoted to him in the book by Lynne Thornton, *em* *Les africanistes Peintres voyageurs* , published by ACR.