Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10

Jean Besancenot
"Jewish Bride of Fez" from "Costumes of Morocco", Gouache on Paper

1942

$1,800
£1,339.05
€1,569.94
CA$2,517.53
A$2,810.89
CHF 1,474.85
MX$34,691.40
NOK 18,539.01
SEK 17,346.53
DKK 11,711.99
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

"Mariée Juive de Fès" translated to "Jewish Bride of Fez" is plate number 52 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people of Morocco from his series "Costumes du Maroc" ("Costumes of Morocco). The woman depicted here is a young Jewish woman dressed for her wedding. She is dressed in traditional fashion for a Jewish wedding for the community in Morocco, a community with a long history in the region, especially the city of Fez, the second largest city in Morocco and known as the "Mecca of the West" for its contributions to religion and learning. For this reason and its northern proximity, Fez was a prominent destination for Jews fleeing Spain. Jewish history in Morocco is long, dating back to the 1st century, their numbers later increased by the Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492 by the Alhambra Decree. Jean Besancenot's sixty plate reproduced and handcolored gouache on paper study on the diversity of Morocco's cultures is a work of stunning historical importance in tracing the rich and vibrant diversity of North Africa. Besancenot spent the 1930s traveling around Morocco, undertaking an awe-inspiring study of its peoples and rendered in vivid and precise detail the way they traditionally lived and dressed. Many of those outfits and cultural expressions are gone now, with Besancenot's watercolored drawings of them some of the only ways that people can now visit the past. The original manuscript of "Costumes du Maroc" is kept in the Royal Collection in Rabat, with only 310 copies of it produced. These prints are fresh from the folio and have been newly museum framed under conservator glass; unframed the image of the print is 12.75 x 7.75 inches. The tissue guards that bear the caption of the plate have been framed in the verso with the title visible behind clear plastic. Jean Besancenot, real name Jean Girard, was a photographer, painter, designer, and ethnologist who was born in 1902 in Estrées-Saint-Denis. His work straddles the crossroads of art and ethnography as he was primarily interested in the costumes and ornaments of Morocco in the first half of the 20th century. He arrived for the first time in Morocco in 1934, a country he traveled through until 1939. There he produced a very rich ethnographic documentation on the traditional costumes and adornments of the different Moroccan ethnic groups. His work, composed of photographs, films, drawings and paintings, testifies to the aestheticism of Moroccan cultural heritage that was still marked by little Western influence. His book "Costumes du Maroc" was published in 1942 at the end of his first trip and presents 60 documented plates of Moroccan costumes and their meanings in local customs. In 1947, Jean Besancenot became the iconographic manager of the Protectorate of France in Morocco where he was responsible for carrying out a documentation mission on Moroccan folklore and crafts. Besancenot encountered many difficulties in carrying out his work, some of the Moroccan Muslims being hostile to the representation of the human figure. As he was met with suspicion and superstition, with doors being frequently closed to all strangers and women rarely coming out with their faces uncovered, he had to work with photographic snapshots and wait a long time at the doors of homes and businesses to catch glimpses of the people. The work required five years of research and direct contact with the population. Besancenot chose 60 outfits that best characterize, according to him, the folklore of the Moroccan populations. He subsequently became a collaborator at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris. His work was particularly honored at the Maison de la photographie de Marrakech in 2018. He died in 1992 in Bry-sur-Marne. Photography by PD Rearick
  • Creator:
    Jean Besancenot (1902 - 1992, French)
  • Creation Year:
    1942
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 19.75 in (50.17 cm)Width: 13.75 in (34.93 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Detroit, MI
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU128618754282

More From This Seller

View All
"Jewish Woman of the Tafilelt" from "Costumes of Morocco", Gouache on Paper
Located in Detroit, MI
"Juive du Tafilelt" translated to "Jewish Woman of the Tafilelt" is plate number 55 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the peopl...
Category

1940s Portrait Prints

Materials

Paper, Gouache

"Woman of the Imerrhane" from "Costumes of Morocco", Gouache on Paper
Located in Detroit, MI
"Femme des Imerrhane" translated to "Woman of the Imerrhane is plate number 34 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people of ...
Category

1940s Portrait Prints

Materials

Paper, Gouache

"Woman of the Aït MGuild" from "Costumes of Morocco", Gouache on Paper
Located in Detroit, MI
"Femme Des Aït MGuild" translated to "Woman of the Aït MGuild" is plate number 19 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people ...
Category

1940s Portrait Prints

Materials

Paper, Gouache

"Townwoman Dressed For Housework" from "Costumes of Morocco", Gouache on Paper
Located in Detroit, MI
"Citadine en Tenue de Ménagère" translated to "Townwoman Dressed For Housework" is plate number 9 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people of Morocco from...
Category

1940s Portrait Prints

Materials

Paper, Gouache

"The Sultan's Moghazni" from "Costumes of Morocco", Gouache on Paper
Located in Detroit, MI
"Moghanzi du Sultan" translated to "The Sultan's Moghazni" is plate number 4 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people of Mo...
Category

1940s Portrait Prints

Materials

Paper, Gouache

"Formal Dress Called <Of The Maghzen>", from "Costumes of Morocco"
Located in Detroit, MI
"Costume du D'Apparat dit du Maghzen" translated to "Formal Dress Called " is plate number 14 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of...
Category

1940s Portrait Prints

Materials

Paper, Gouache

You May Also Like

Costume - Mixed Media on Paper by Alkis Matheos - Mid-20th Century
By Alkis Matheos
Located in Roma, IT
Costume is a painting in mixed media, tempera and watercolor on paper, realized by the Greek-French artist Alkis Matheos in the mid.20th Century. Very good conditions. Signed by ar...
Category

Mid-20th Century Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Tempera, Watercolor

Indonesian Costume - Lithograph by Emile Gallois - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Lithograph and pochoir realized by Emile Gallois in the mid-20th Century ca. to illustrate indonesian costumes. Signed in the plate. Published by H. Laurens, Paris. Very good cond...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Portrait Traditional North African Lady in Headdress Signed Large Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
French Orientalist, signed and dated (19)98 oil on canvas dated 98' framed: 39 x 31 inches canvas: 29 x 21 inches Provenance: private collection, France Condition: very good conditi...
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Russian French Judaica Jewish Bride Shtetl Wedding Lithograph Mourlot Paris
By Mane Katz
Located in Surfside, FL
Mane-Katz (1894-1962) Original Lithograph published by Andre Sauret, Monte Carlo, 1966, printed in France, by Mourlot. The ouvrage sheet is not included. this is from a limited editi...
Category

1960s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Portrait of Moroccan Woman - Original Drawing by Helen Vogt - Mid-20th Century
By Helen Vogt
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait of Moroccan Woman is an original drawing realized by Helen Vogt in the Mid-20th Century. China ink drawing on paper. Includes frame 48 x 4 x ...
Category

1950s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Costume - Original Mixed Media on Paper by Alkis Matheos - Mid-20th Century
By Alkis Matheos
Located in Roma, IT
Costume is an original painting in mixed media, tempera and watercolor on paper, realized by the Greek-French artist Alkis Matheos . Very good conditions. Signed by artist's stamp....
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media