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Jean Besancenot
"Man of the Zemmour" 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
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About the Item

"Homme des Zemmour" translated to "Man of the Zemmour" is plate number 24 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people of Morocco from his series "Costumes du Maroc" ("Costumes of Morocco). The man depicted here is dressed simply in traditional clothing of the Zemmour tribe of the Amazigh (also known as the Berbers). The Zemmour people are part of the Tadla confederacy that occupies the center of Morocco, north of the Atlas Mountains. The Beni Zemmour occupy the eastern part of the modern Khouribga Province and like many of the Tadla confederacy they are descended from nomadic Arabs and Berbers who underwent Arabization. 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: LU128618754232

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