Signs of Moroccan Culture in Matisse: A Semiological Reading of the 1912–1913 Journey and the Genesis of a New Plastic Language

Abdellatif NOUAYTI

Article Details

Signs of Moroccan Culture in Matisse: A Semiological Reading of the 1912–1913 Journey and the Genesis of a New Plastic Language

Authors:

Abdellatif NOUAYTI

Publisher:

Hicham BELHAJ

Journal:

Complexus Vol.1 Issue 7, pp.0-0

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2026

Document Language:

French

Document ID (Org No.):

2001843898

pISSN:

2665-735X

Abstract:

 This article offers a semiological reading of the works Henri Matisse produced during his stays in Morocco between 1912 and 1913, namely Zohra on the terrace (1912), Entrance to the Kasbah (1912) and Standing Moroccan in Green (1913). The analysis highlights how the iconic signs of Moroccan culture (costumes, domestic spaces, and architecture) were perceived and then transfigured by the artist. Far from a mere decorative exoticism, these elements emerge as autonomous plastic signifiers where color, light, formal simplification, and geometry prevail. The Moroccan journey thus appears as a decisive stage in the genesis of a new pictorial language, freed from naturalistic mimesis and oriented toward an innovative aesthetic.

Article Details

Signs of Moroccan Culture in Matisse: A Semiological Reading of the 1912–1913 Journey and the Genesis of a New Plastic Language

Authors: Abdellatif NOUAYTI

Publisher: Hicham BELHAJ

Journal: Complexus Vol.1 Issue 7, pp.0-0

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 6/2026

Document Language: French

Document ID (Org No.): 2001843898

pISSN: 2665-735X

Issues

Authors:

Abdellatif NOUAYTI

Publisher:

Hicham BELHAJ

Journal:

Complexus Vol.1 Issue 7, pp.0-0

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2026

Document Language:

French

Document ID (Org No.):

2001843898

pISSN:

2665-735X