Jacques Majorelle (7 March 1886 – 14 October 1962), son of the celebrated Art Nouveau furniture designer Louis Majorelle, was a French painter. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Nancy in 1901 and later at the Académie Julian in Paris with Schommer and Royer. Majorelle became a noted Orientalist painter, but is most remembered for constructing the villa and gardens that now carry his name, the Majorelle Garden in Marrakech. Life and career Jacques Majorelle was born in 1886 in Nancy, France. He was the son of a celebrated furniture designer, Louis Majorelle. Jacques' childhood was spent among the draftsmen, cabinetmakers and marquetry inlayers from his father's workshops at a time when the Art Nouveau movement was in its ascendancy. Initially, his father encouraged the young Jacques to study architecture, but after three years, he decided to take up his lifelong passion, painting. Majorelle received his art education at the École des Beaux-Arts in Nancy in 1901 and later at the Académie Julian in Paris with Schommer and Royer. He first exhibited at the Salon de Beaux Artes in 1908. In around 1917 he travelled to Morocco to recover from heart problems and after short period spent in Casablanca, he visited Marrakech, where he fell in love with the vibrant colours and quality of light he found there. Initially, he used Marrakech as a base for trips to Spain, Italy and other parts of North Africa, including Egypt. Eventually, however, he settled in Marrakech permanently. He drew inspiration for his paintings from his trips and from Marrakesh itself. His paintings include many street scenes, souks and kasbahs as well as portraits of local inhabitants. He opened a handicrafts workshop in Marrakech and also designed posters to promote travel to Morocco. His work was profoundly affected by his voyages around the Mediterranean and North Africa. He introduced a more coloured vision, bathed in light where the drawing disappears and the image emerges from large spots of colour laid flat. It seemed as if he had discovered the sun in these countries. His style exhibited more freedom and spontaneity. In 1919, he married Andrée Longueville and the pair lived in an apartment near the Jemâa el-Fna Square (then at the palace of Pasha Ben Daoud). In 1923, Jacques Majorelle bought a four-acre plot, situated on the border of a palm grove in Marrakech and began planting a luxuriant garden which