A Journey of Light and Color—Read the Story of Matisse in Morocco by Jeff Koehler

Matisse in Morocco

It was winter 1912 when French painter Henri Matisse, accompanied by his wife, Amélie, embarked on the SS Rindjani sailing to Morocco’s chief port, Tangier. The trip was a last-minute decision, one made on a whim and with hopes for a new creative impulse, a new divine moment of afflatus. It’s been a while since Matisse succeeded in selling his paintings or gained acclaim from the public. The artist was in a rut. He needed a change of scenery, a change of color, a change of light.

The time Matisse spent in Morocco turned out to be groundbreaking. Morocco provided the backdrop for some of his best pieces, such as Window at Tangier, Arab Coffeehouse, or Zorah on the Terrace. Each of these paintings has a distinctive story behind it, and with the artist’s annotations and letters, we can ourselves revisit their locations.

Light and Color

While prolific in creation, life in Tangier wasn’t easy. Before he found what he needed from the vivid North African light, Matisse struggled with challenges. First, two weeks of miserable rain confined him to the hotel room. The inability to paint and explore the city, followed by anxiety-induced insomnia, has brought him as far as contemplating suicide. Later, encouraged by better weather, he encountered issues in realizing his creative visions—mainly with finding models willing to sit for his work.

Such “backstage” stories behind the paintings often stay hidden from a casual museum viewer. Looking just at the canvas, we see merely a vase with flowers, a pretty still life, and its surroundings. But stories can bring us beyond to give a richer context. Just a bouquet of lush irises in a decorative vase turns into a feeling of relief for a struggling artist. After a week of being stuck in the pouring Tangier rain, Matisse was finally able to paint again.

The Book

Jeff Koehler’s Matisse in Morocco gives us exactly that—a story behind everything Henri Matisse saw, experienced, felt, and created. In the book’s acknowledgments, Koehler mentions the paintings and Matisse’s winters in Morocco became a personal obsession ever since he saw them in the 1990 spring catalog of their Washington exhibition. This obsession shows, in the best way possible.

The research conducted for the book is meticulous, featuring frequent quotations from Matisse’s letters, references to art history scholars, and a well-researched historical context. The reader will surely learn more not just about Matisse but also about the painters he corresponded with, the 20th-century art scene, and other well-known artists who worked in Tangier, like Eugène Delacroix.

Jeff Koehler is a skilled storyteller. We are immediately brought to Matisse’s point of view as he overlooks the North African coast from the ship. We follow and experience his steps, empathize with struggles, moments of happiness, artistic anxiety, and artistic bliss. Almost making the journey with him, we learn more about the artist’s emotions, modus operandi, relationships with art collectors, and his beloved wife, Amélie.

The book is a delightful read for a wide range of readers. For art enthusiasts, it offers a compelling insight into the mind and life story of a groundbreaking artist; for travelers and Morocco lovers, a beautiful guide to the country’s history and sights.

Matisse and Morocco. A Journey of Light and Color premiered in June 2025, published by Pegasus Books. Jeff Koehler is a Barcelona-based American writer and photographer, author of many acclaimed books on cooking, travel and culture.